Crocodile Tears
by Shuichi Akai
Summary: [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again. Join Crocodile and Daz as they journey with the Straw Hats in the New World! [Straw Hat Pirate Crocodile]
1. Chapter 1

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

Akainu was about to blast Luffy with a magma fist. Luffy couldn't move, exhausted from his previous battle with Magellan. His eyes widened as Akainu attacked. Ace himself was tired and wouldn't get there in time. The Straw Hat captain felt a shove and fell to his side, avoiding the Logia's fist. However, the rescuer had taken the hit instead.

"ALLIGATOR!"

Crocodile's scream had sounded throughout the island. He stopped his fight with Doflamingo and rushed to Alligator's side. His younger brother's whole torso had been hit by the magma. Alligator coughed up blood. "Croc…"

"Rear-Admiral Alligator just defended Straw Hat Luffy!"

"What the hell is Alligator thinking!?"

"Crocodile seems concerned! What the hell is going on!?"

"H-Hey," Luffy said. "Marine guy, you saved me!"

"Alligator you're going to be alright!" Crocodile gently cradled his brother. "Big brother will make sure of it!"

"Big brother?" Luffy then realized who that man really was to Crocodile. "Is that Marine guy your brother!?"

"I can't lose you too…" Tears fell from Crocodile's eyes.

Everyone was shocked. The term crocodile tears referred to fake, insincere tears. However, Crocodile wouldn't even attempt to cry fake tears. Sir Crocodile, a former Shichibukai, and the Desert King, was crying. Not only that, but he was crying in the middle of a war _while the whole world was watching._

"No way," Marco said. "Is Crocodile really crying!?"

"That man would only cry if he really cared about someone," Whitebeard said. "That Marine he's holding must be someone close to him,"

"Mugiwara…" Alligator rasped.

"Yeah?" Luffy asked.

"Let my brother and Daz…join your crew…" Alligator requested. "Please…"

"Huh!?" Luffy was caught off guard by that request.

"Help him…learn how…to care about…others again…" Alligator pleaded. "You're someone capable of that…" He coughed up blood.

"Al don't speak!" Crocodile ordered. "You're going to be alright! I don't need Mugiwara to teach me any shit or join his damn crew!"

"Croc…you know I won't last much longer…" Al said. "Please…go with Mugiwara…"

"Alligator…" Crocodile whispered, more tears falling.

 _The three of us are brothers forever  
When you're feeling lonely, look up to the sky whenever  
Together, for each other, we will shelter_

Alligator wiped away his brothers' tears as he sang.

 _None of us will never be lonely  
We will always have each other  
Where we are will never matter_

Alligator's hand fell from Croc's face and went limp. "Al…the song's not over…" Crocodile gently shook him. "Al…wake up…Please wake up…Please Al…" The tears were practically a river flowing. Alligator remained unmoving and unresponsive.

"Croc—" Ace began.

"SENGOKU!" Crocodile screamed at the Fleet Admiral. "WHAT KIND OF FATHER ARE YOU!?" His expression had turned from sorrowful to anger, but the sadness still showed in his eyes and tears. "YOU LET ROCINANTE GO ON THAT SUICIDE MISSION! AND NOW ALLIGATOR IS DEAD TOO! WHAT KIND OF FATHER LETS HIS SONS DIE!? WERE WE NEVER YOUR SONS TO BEGIN WITH!? ANSWER ME!"

"S-Sons!?" Both pirates and Marines who have never known about the brotherhood exclaimed.

"C-C-Crocodile is Sengoku's son!?" Buggy yelled in shock. He turned to Galdino. "Did you know about this!?"

"Yeah," Galdino gulped, eyes wide. "I never expected Crocodile to ever reveal it to the world like this though,"

Before Sengoku could respond to Crocodile's outburst, Akainu attacked the pirate. "Boss!" Daz Bones did his best to block his comrade from the attack but both were still hit. Magma covered Crocodile's face and Daz Bones' arms. "Traitors like you should die, Crocodile," Akainu raised his fist once more.

"Leave them alone!" Luffy shouted. "They're my nakama now!"

Ace create a wall of flames between Akainu and the pirates. "Luffy, get out of here!"

Marco flew by Luffy. "Get on my back-yoi," He ordered.

"What about Crocodile and his friend?" Luffy asked.

"I'll carry them too," Marco said.

That's when Trafalgar Law's submarine, the Polar Tang, surfaced. "Bring them over here!" He called to Marco. "I'm a doctor!"

"Can we trust him-yoi?" Marco asked as he flew up, Luffy on his back and the two pirates in his talons.

"Law…" Crocodile whispered, managing to open one of his eyes just enough to see the Surgeon of Death. "He's my…nephew…"

Marco flew over to the Polar Tang, tossing the former Warlord and his comrade to Jean Bart who easily caught them. Luffy then jumped down from Marco's back and onto the Polar Tang. "Get them to the operation room!" Law ordered his crew.

XXX

" _I can't lose you too…" Tears fell from Crocodile's eyes._

The neighboring islands had broadcasted the whole thing. "Sir Crocodile was crying!?" The citizens and pirates all exclaimed.

"Who was that man that was hit by Admiral Akainu's attack?" A reporter questioned.

"Crocodile screamed the name 'Alligator' so they must be related!" A pirate said.

 _A few moments later, Crocodile cried even harder._

"We need to figure out their relationship!" One reporter said. However, his question was answered by Crocodile himself.

" _SENGOKU!" Crocodile screamed at the Fleet Admiral. "WHAT KIND OF FATHER ARE YOU!?" His expression had turned from sorrowful to anger, but the sadness still showed in his eyes and tears. "YOU LET ROCINANTE GO ON THAT SUICIDE MISSION! AND NOW ALLIGATOR IS DEAD TOO! WHAT KIND OF FATHER LETS HIS SONS DIE!? WERE WE NEVER YOUR SONS TO BEGIN WITH!? ANSWER ME!"_

"Did Crocodile just call Sengoku his father!?" The crowd exclaimed.

"This is the scoop of the century!" A report quickly scribbled some things down. "Not only is Straw Hat Luffy the son of the Revolutionary Dragon and Fire Fist Ace is the son of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, but Sir Crocodile is the son of Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

XXX

Whitebeard had died after battling both Akainu and Blackbeard. Shanks had arrived and ended the war, taking Whitebeard's body to bury it on a peaceful island. Sengoku was sitting beside the ruins of Marine HQ, the tears flowing. "Alligator…"

"Senny," Garp approached the Fleet Admiral.

"Was Crocodile right, Garp?" Sengoku asked.

"Huh?" Garp questioned.

"Was I a horrible father?" Sengoku rephrased.

"You're a better father than me, that's for sure," Garp sat down beside his friend. "You raised them with a father's love since they were kids. I cared about Dragon but I threw him off cliffs, into jungles, and into abysses,"

"But Alligator and Rocinante are both dead," Sengoku said. "A father is supposed to protect his sons yet…I let two of them die! Now my only son left hates me!"

XXX

The Heart Pirates were docked at the bay of Amazon Lily. Luffy's injuries had also been tended to. Daz Bones had woken up but Crocodile was still unconscious. "Will Croc be okay?" Luffy asked.

Daz Bones shook his head. "Alligator meant a lot to him. His whole personality was different whenever Alligator visited Alabasta. He was always more cheerful and less irritable. He would smile and even threw a party once,"

"No way!" Penguin exclaimed. "Crocodile _threw a party!?_ "

"Yes," Daz Bones nodded. "It was for Alligator's birthday after Crocodile became a Shichibukai. Even the Fleet Admiral himself had joined along with another Marine soldier who was a close friend of Crocodile,"

Inside the submarine, Crocodile was lying in bed. His whole face was covered with bandages. Law was leaning against the wall of the sub, watching over him. "Al…gator…" Crocodile's eye shot open. "Where…Al…gator…"

"Alligator is dead," Law informed.

Crocodile sat up. "Where…Al…gator…"

"He's dead," Law repeated.

Crocodile stood up. "No…" He took a few steps towards the door leading to the exit. "Not…dead…"

XXX

Crocodile had destroyed the submarine's entry door and jumped onto the sandy beach. "Where…Al…gator…"

"Croc!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Boss, are you alright?" Daz Bones asked.

"Where…Al…gator?" Crocodile kept on asking.

"Your brother died…" Luffy whispered.

Crocodile finally realized that they were not at Marineford anymore. His confusion turned into anger and realization. His brother was indeed gone, having protected Straw Hat. He glared at the latter. "This is your fault!" He attempted to punch him, not having the strength to use his Devil Fruit.

"How is it my fault!?" Luffy asked. "Akainu was the one that killed him!"

"He protected…you…" Crocodile rasped. "You're weak!"

"How _dare_ you attempt to harm _my_ Luffy!?" Boa kicked Crocodile in the side. "I am beyond furious!"

"Hancock wait!" Luffy stopped her. "He's just upset that his brother's dead! I would be the same too if Ace had died!"

Crocodile didn't bother to get up from his spot on the beach. He was weeping. "You're weak…you're weak…you're weak…"

"Boss?" Daz Bones called.

"You're weak…" Crocodile said. A few seconds of silence followed. "… _I'm_ …weak…"

* * *

 **So then Rayleigh makes his appearance same as in the Canon Universe. However, he offers to train Luffy, Crocodile, and Daz Bones for the next two years. Of course they accept.  
Crocodile blamed Luffy because if Luffy was stronger, then Alligator wouldn't have needed to protect him.**

 **Do you want this to be a multi-chapter story? If yes, the next chapter will take place after the two year time skip.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

Luffy picked up his straw hat. "I can't believe it's been two years already,"

"Neither can I," Crocodile said. His appearance had changed quite a bit due to Akainu's magma. His scar was gone but Law had managed to heal the burns, leaving his skin slightly tinged red. He had changed his hairstyle too; he stopped slicking it back and instead let it resemble Alligator's spikes although tamer. His hook had been replaced with an actual hand now, courtesy of Law's Devil Fruit and whoever the hell the victim was. He was also a bit taller and a bit more muscular now.

"Nor I," Daz's arms were a darker shade of red than Crocodile's due to having taken the direct hit from the magma. He was also taller and more muscled.

They all wore different clothing too. Crocodile wore a dark brown button up shirt with the top two buttons left undone along with long black pants and black shoes. His fur coat was packed away into a backpack for when the weather was colder. He wore a wristband, which was the last gift he had ever received from his younger brother. It was made by Alligator too. Daz wore a black sleeveless shirt, black pants, and black shoes. Luffy wore a red unbuttoned tunic, a yellow sash around his waist, and blue shorts with a white fur lining the hole of the pants legs.

"Luffy, Crocodile, Daz," Marguerite addressed. "The ship is ready to sail out at any moment,"

"Okay, thanks," Luffy said. He looked at the three giant animals: a gorilla, a crocodile, and a lion. "Since I made friends with them, it's too bad that I can't eat them. They look yummy too,"

"Can we bring the crocodile?" Crocodile asked.

"I just said I made friends with them so we can't eat them!" Luffy snapped.

"Isn't that cannibalism?" Daz Bones questioned.

"I didn't say we were going to eat it!" Crocodile yelled back.

Over the two years they had been together, Crocodile had begun to open up to Luffy. Luffy had shared the story of the death of his other brother, Sabo, and had told Crocodile that he knew how it felt to lose a brother. During those two years, Luffy had gotten Crocodile to act less like he did when he tried to take over Alabasta. He even managed to learn that Crocodile liked animals.

"We put everything that you like on the ship, Luffy," Boa informed. "And I think I'll be a good wife since I'm thoughtful like that,"

"I'm not gonna get married but thanks for the food," Luffy rejected the marriage proposal.

Crocodile only stared. _'Did he just reject her just like that?'_

"I can't help loving you even if you're so bitter!" Boa put a hand to her face.

"Rayleigh left six months ago," Marguerite told the trio. "He must be waiting for you at Sabaody already,"

"I already learned the basics in eighteen months," Luffy said. "Croc and Daz got the hang of it easier than me. Now we have to say goodbye to you guys and the island," Luffy placed the straw hat on his head. "Alright, let's go!"

XXX

Luffy's giant bag of food had accidentally bumped Fake Luffy, knocking him down. "Oh, did I hit you? Sorry. Bye," He continued his way, Crocodile and Daz Bones following not too far behind.

"Wait a minute!" Fake Luffy called.

Luffy turned to him. "Huh?"

Fake Luffy began to walk over to him. "Hey, did you hit me on purpose?" Fake Luffy tapped Luffy's head. "Why don't you say something?" He pushed the muzzle of the gun to Luffy's cheek. "Did you hit me knowing who I was? Did you see it? You made me look like a fool. You humiliated me in public. It shouldn't happen to me. I'm an elite pirate with a four hundred million bounty!"

"Really?" Crocodile didn't believe that lie for one second. "If you had such a high bounty, why can't anyone recognize you?"

"I'm Straw Hat Luffy!" Fake Luffy pointed to his straw hat. "I'm the son of the revolutionary Dragon!"

"Kuhahaha," Crocodile laughed. "No you're not,"

"Oi, Hancock said to not cause any trouble," Luffy whispered to his friend.

"It's a miracle how stupid people can be," Crocodile grinned. "There's zero effort in those disguises the impostors are wearing,"

"I-Impostors!?" Fake Luffy stammered.

"H-How did he find us out?" Fake Franky, Fake Nami, and Fake Sogeking exclaimed quietly.

"Tell me," Crocodile said. "What happened at the end of the War of the Best then?"

"Marco the Phoenix brought me, Crocodile, and Daz Bones to Trafalgar Law's submarine," Fake Luffy answered, recalling what the Transponder Snail had showed. "Crocodile and Daz Bones didn't make it though. They're injuries were too severe. Besides, why would a weakling like Crocodile survive? He cried over some stupid Marine's death,"

That last sentence had struck a nerve. Crocodile didn't bother to keep his anger hidden. He grabbed Fake Luffy's throat. " _What_ did you call my little brother?"

"Y-Your brother?" Fake Luffy struggled to breathe due to the tight grip.

"The Marine that died was my little brother, Alligator," Crocodile growled. "Not 'some stupid Marine' like you said. Now why don't you take a closer look at my associate," He pointed to Daz Bones.

"D-Daz Bones!?" Fake Luffy recognized him.

"Didn't you say that Crocodile and Daz Bones both died?" Crocodile slowly added more pressure to his grip.

"Crocodile, we don't have time for this," Luffy told Crocodile.

Crocodile threw Fake Luffy towards the other fakes. "Let this be a warning to _never_ talk trash about Rear Admiral Alligator! I don't care what you say about Mugiwara or anyone else but I will _not_ let anyone get away with speaking about my brother like that!"

As the three left, the information sunk in. "T-That was the real Sir Crocodile!" Fake Nami exclaimed.

"That guy can't be Crocodile!" Fake Franky said. "He has two hands and not a hook!"

"And he doesn't have that scar across his face!" Fake Sogeking added.

XXX

The three were approached by Fake Sanji and Fake Zoro. "They're starting to get on my nerves," Crocodile said.

"So you're Sanji aren't you?" Luffy asked Fake Sanji. He then turned to Fake Zoro. "So you must be Zoro! Long time no see!"

Crocodile and Daz Bones were shocked at Luffy's gullibility. _'They look totally different!'_

"H-Hey, it's been a while!" Fake Zoro went along with the act.

"I thought you said we don't have time for this?" Crocodile asked Luffy.

"These two are my friends!" Luffy pointed out.

"They're impostors," Crocodile revealed. "They hardly resembled your actual crew. Let's go meet up with the _real_ ones. These guys are just a waste of time,"

"Impostors?"

XXX

"Your looks have changed in the past two years," Luffy said as he followed Fake Zoro and Fake Sanji.

Crocodile and Daz Bones had given up trying to convince Luffy that they were impostors. _'He's so gullible!'_

The fakes brought them to Fake Luffy. "Aren't these the guys you're looking for?"

"So it's you," Crocodile narrowed his eyes.

"There's no way you're the real Crocodile," Fake Luffy said. "Crocodile has a scar across his face and a hook for a left hand. I'll prove it too. That 'Alligator' Marine that died was a dumbass and a weakling! See? What are you going to do about it?"

Crocodile clenched his fists, turning them to sand. "I'm going to kill you!"

When they saw the sand, they Fake Straw Hats realized that they ****ed up.

* * *

 **Crocodile is still traumatized from Alligator's death, which is why he's acting a bit different from his usual self. As said in the story, he's starting to open up to Luffy since he had also lost a brother. Well, Luffy doesn't know that Sabo is still alive.**

 **I might not write the Fishman Island Arc but it still happened in this timeline, it just finished a lot quicker than in the Canon Universe. I didn't really enjoy that arc as much as I did with the other arcs. Sorry Fishman Island Arc lovers.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

Crocodile drained most of the moisture from Fake Luffy's body, leaving him barely alive. He then kicked the mummified pirate. "I'm not going to let you die that easily. You deserve to suffer," Crocodile then looked to the rest of the pirates in Grove 46. "Anyone else want to pick a fight!?"

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion as Marines began to surround the area. "Pacifista!" Pirates screamed. Two Pacifista stood not too far away, blasting away pirates. "What are the Navy's human weapons doing here!?"

"It's those guys who look like bears! Even though Hancock told us to not cause a scene..." Luffy said.

"Boss has already drew attention to us," Daz Bones told him.

"The Pirate Straw Hat Luffy has been identified," One of the Pacifista announced.

"The Pacifista!? Really!?" The Fake Straw Hats exclaimed. "Captain's their target!?"

"They still haven't realized it yet, have they?" Daz sighed.

"Sandstorm!" Crocodile sent a tornado of sand towards the Pacifista, destroying one of them along with a bunch of Marines and pirates.

"To think that you and Daz Bones survived Fleet Admiral Akainu's attack," Sentomaru said, recognizing the Sand-Sand Fruit. "Though you look very different now. That man with the giant bag is Mugiwara, am I correct?"

"THE REAL STRAW HAT LUFFY IS HERE!?" The Fake Straw Hats exclaimed.

"Wait, that guy was imitating me?" Luffy pointed to Demaro Black. "And the Sanji and Zoro were fakes too?"

"That's what Boss tried to tell you," Daz answered.

"PX-5, attack!" Sentomaru ordered.

Luffy, Crocodile, and Daz Bones dodged with ease. "Too slow," Luffy said before using Gear Second. He then appeared right above PX-5. "Gum-Gum…Jet Pistol!" He destroyed it with one punch.

"That Mugiwara…" Sentomaru realized. "He coated his fist with Haki!"

"HE DESTROYED THE PACIFISTA WITH A SINGLE PUNCH!?"

"See ya later! I'm sure I'll be seeing you again!" Luffy told Sentomaru. "Come on Croc, Daz!"

"Wait Mugiwara!" Sentomaru called but the three continued running.

"Seems like Sentomaru is more interested in taking down Mugiwara than us," Crocodile said.

"Hey, do you know that guy?" Luffy asked Crocodile.

"Met him when he was an annoying brat that wouldn't leave me alone," Crocodile muttered. "He kept wanting to hear stories about my missions when I was a Marine,"

"You used to be a Marine!?" Luffy exclaimed.

Even Daz was shocked at this fact until he recalled that Alligator was a Marine. "Your brother was a Marine, so it shouldn't be surprising that you were probably a Marine too,"

"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro called before recognizing Daz Bones. "Mr. 1!? What's he doing here!?"

"Luffy! That was you after all! How can you already be in trouble?" Sanji shouted before also noticing Daz.

"Zoro! Sanji! There's no mistake! You guys are the real ones!" Luffy cried. "I missed you guys!"

"Roronoa! Black Leg!" Sentomaru recognized the two original Straw Hats. "There alive too!"

"Hey Luffy, your ninth," Zoro told his captain. "Anyway, why is Mr. 1 here? And who's that other guy?"

"I'll explain back at the Sunny," Luffy answered. "But they're our new nakama!"

"EH!?"

"Don't let Mugiwara and the others escape! Capture them if it's the last thing you do!"

"Are you _sure_ I can't just kill them all?" Crocodile asked Luffy.

Suddenly, Luffy stopped and turned around. "Rayleigh!"

"I decided to come and have a look but it seems you guys are doing just fine," Rayleigh said. "You three have gotten even stronger since I last saw you three,"

"Yeah," Luffy nodded.

"Then hurry up and get going! Back to your friends!" Rayleigh told him.

"Right," Luffy nodded once more. "Rayleigh, thanks for everything for the past two years!"

"Hurry up and go," Rayleigh ordered.

Luffy put down his bag. "Rayleigh…I'm going to do it…I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"Mugiwara, we don't have time to waste!" Crocodile snapped. "Let's go!"

"That voice is familiar," Sanji said to Zoro.

"Yeah," Zoro nodded.

The five of them started to run again as the Marines resumed their chase. "Keep going all the way to the top!" Rayleigh shouted.

"The Straw Hat Pirates are heading for Grove 42!" The Marines said. "Don't let them escape!"

Rayleigh blocked the path of the Marines. "My three apprentices are setting sail. Please do not interfere,"

XXX

The Marines had surrounded the five but suddenly became depressed. "Hey, isn't that…" Sanji started.

"So you were the ones causing all this commotion?" Perona asked. "Honestly! Why are you still dawdling around here?"

"You're the woman from Thriller Bark!" Sanji's eyes turned to hearts.

"Aren't you Moriah's underling?" Crocodile asked.

"Huh? Who are you?" Perona asked. "Anyway, you have to set sail quickly. Warships have surrounded the island. If you don't hurry, your escape route will be cut off,"

A giant bird appeared. "I finally found you guys!" Chopper called.

XXX

"Oi!" Luffy called from atop the giant bird. "Hey!"

"So they're finally here," Usopp said. "Huh, there are two new people—ONE OF THEM IS MR. 1 FROM BAROQUE WORKS!"

"Huh!?" Nami and Robin exclaimed.

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji! Chopper! Watch out! Mr. 1 is next to you!" Nami shouted.

"Don't worry!" Luffy said as they all boarded the Sunny. "These two are our new nakama!"

Sanji's nose bled at the sight of Nami and Robin. "Does this happen a lot?" Crocodile asked.

"Yeah," Zoro nodded.

After bringing Sanji back onto the ship and thanking the giant bird, everyone turned to Luffy. "Why are you letting Mr. 1 join the crew!? He works for Crocodile!"

Robin locked eyes with Crocodile. "Hello Mr. 0,"

"MR. 0!?" The crew exclaimed once more while Brook and Franky were confused.

"Shouldn't we start sailing before the warships sink us?" Crocodile asked.

The Marine's ships began to fire at the Thousand Sunny. "Slave…Arrow!" Boa attacked the cannonballs from her ship.

"That's the Kuja's mark," Robin said.

"The Kuja?" Nami asked.

"The crew of one of the Shichibukai," Crocodile explained. "She's known as the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock,"

"One of the Shichibukai!?" Usopp shouted.

"Rumor has it that anyone who sees her beauty is completely overwhelmed and turns into stone," Robin added.

"S-So bright! Shining!" Brook fell backwards, dropping his telescope.

Usopp grabbed the telescope and looked at Boa. "I can't believe her unsurpassed beauty!"

"Unsurpassed beauty!?" Sanji jolted to consciousness. "Where?" He looked at Hancock too and turned to stone.

"Oh, it's Hancock and the others!" Luffy walked over to the railing.

Brook fell backwards. "She just winked at me…"

"No, she winked at Mugiwara," Daz Bones corrected.

"Luffy, you know that woman?" Nami asked.

"Yeah. I was sent flying to the Island of Women. They're all friends of mine," Luffy answered.

"The legendary island populated entirely by women?" Usopp queried. "You mean it really exists?"

"You're on friendly terms with the Empress?" Sanji grabbed Luffy by the collar. "Hey! Did you even train at all!?"

"Yeah, heaps!" Luffy replied calmly. "Daz and Croc did too,"

"Croc…" Usopp slowly turned to Crocodile. "You mean he really is Sir Crocodile!?"

"And I was…I was…" Sanji banged on the floor of the Thousand Sunny.

"What happened to you, Sanji?" Luffy questioned.

"It's not as if you were sent to the Kamabakka Kingdom," Crocodile mumbled.

"Shut up!" Sanji snapped. "Wait, how do you know about that kingdom?"

Crocodile averted eye contact, slightly blushing out of embarrassment. "I…ah…Shouldn't we start sailing since the Pirate Empress bought us time!?"

"You're avoiding the question!"

While they were talking, Franky dove into the water. Soon, the coating started to expand. "It's starting to swell up!" Luffy said.

"We need to be inside the coating or else we'll drown," Crocodile pointed out.

"How do you know that?" Franky asked.

"I've been to the New World multiple times," Crocodile answered.

XXX

After the Thousand Sunny had full submerged, the crew demanded answers. "Why the hell are we letting Crocodile and Daz Bones join the crew!?"

"Croc's little brother asked me," Luffy answered.

"How can you even trust them!?" Usopp ranted. "Don't you remember what happened in Alabasta!?"

"Croc's brother gave up his life to protect me," Luffy said in a serious tone. "His last wish was for me to let them join my crew,"

"So the newspaper was right…" Robin looked to Crocodile. "Alligator really did—"

"Please don't bring this topic up again," Crocodile pleaded quietly, looking away.

Seeing Crocodile like that surprised them. They've always seen him as the man who tried to take over Alabasta. Now, at that moment, they only saw a man who has people that were dear to him.

* * *

 **So the Straw Hat Pirates finally reunited! The next chapter will begin at the beginning of the Punk Hazard Arc, but Fishman Island Arc still happened. Basically the only difference was that the fight ended faster. There was going to be more Croc VS Fake Luffy but the Marines interrupted them.  
Matt: Holy crap that's an awesome idea! Sand Shack Feeding Frenzy reminds me of the movie Sand Sharks. (Don't watch it if you're sensitive to blood).**


	4. Chapter 4

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

Lightning flashed across the dark clouded sky. The waves crashed into each other. Thunder boomed throughout the area. "Go!" Luffy shouted.

Chopper held onto the railing, dizzy from the rough waves. Crocodile grabbed Chopper and rushed inside the cabin.

"Hey, hey!" Usopp called.

"Wait a second!" Brook panicked. "What's going to happen to us!?"

"This is no problem for the Sunny!" Franky assured.

"Yahoo!" Luffy cheered as the ship flew into the air.

"I don't remember the sea ever being this rough!" Crocodile shouted.

"What's that?" Zoro asked, looking straight ahead.

"What!? Impossible!" Nami said.

"A red sea?" Robin questioned.

"Boss and I have never encountered a red sea before," Daz told them. "Nor have we heard of that island," He pointed to the volcano erupting.

"It's a mystery island then!" Luffy said happily. "Let's drop anchor at that island!"

"WHAT!?"

"Wait, Luffy!" Nami protested. "I knew it…None of the Log Pose's needles point to that island!"

"Why are you hiding in there!?" Sanji demanded from the ex-Shichibukai.

"Water is bad for me!" Crocodile reminded.

"Coward!"

"Those are volcanoes!" Luffy argued with Nami. " _Volcanoes_! Doesn't it look fun? Why wouldn't we go?" The volcano erupted once more. "Another eruption!" He rushed to the railing. "We can see it right there! Who cares about the needles? We're dropping anchor no matter what you say!"

"No way!" Nami refused. "We can't get any closer than this! I mean, it's a sea of fire!" But Luffy only grinned wider. "I don't get you!"

"Great, now I'll be turned into glass," Crocodile slumped into a seat. "Chopper, are you alright?"

"I'm just a bit dizzy and seasick," Chopper told him.

"Isn't that the giant shellfish we got from Panz Fry?" Usopp asked when Sanji put a leg on top of the said food.

"I was just thinking, since the sea is on fire, it'd be a waste not to take the chance to cook this," Sanji claimed.

"Sanji! How can you be so relaxed!?" Chopper exclaimed from inside.

"This fire…" Usopp realized.

"This ship is wooden…" Crocodile also realized it too. "The Thousand Sunny will catch fire!"

"No!" Franky denied. "The Sunny is super-fireproof!"

"Even if it shouldn't burn, there's something wrong with this sea!" Nami said. "Look at the fish! They're nothing but bones!"

"What? Did you call me?" Brook asked and Nami only sighed.

Crying was heard and sounded throughout the ship. "W-What is that sound?" Everyone rushed inside to the Den-Den Mushi. "Hey, what's this? The Snail Phone is crying—Croc did you make it cry!?"

"I told you I'm an animal lover!" Crocodile shouted. "Snails are animals too!"

"Hey, what's wrong!?" Luffy asked the snail. "Does your stomach hurt?"

"Mugiwara," Crocodile sighed, pushing him aside. "It's an emergency signal. Then again, less than half of the emergency signals are real…"

"But what if someone is really in trouble!" Luffy argued.

"Since I already learned that you're stubborn," Crocodile answered the call. "This is Mr. 0. What do you want?"

 _"Please, help me!"_

"What's wrong!? You're making this poor snail cry!" Crocodile growled.

 _"It's freezing…Is that you, boss?"_

"Last I checked, Baroque Works was gone," Crocodile recalled. "So no, I'm not your boss,"

 _"My companions keep getting cut down. The samurai's gonna kill us all!"_

"Samurai?" Zoro questioned.

Luffy snatched the transceiver from Crocodile. "Hey, what's your name!? Where are you!?"

 _"It doesn't matter who I am, just save me! I'm on…Punk Hazard!"_

The snail then coughed up blood. "He was killed!" Chopper and Usopp screamed.

"Punk Hazard?" Daz questioned. "Is that the name of the island we're near?"

"Probably," Crocodile nodded.

"He could've been acting," Robin said. "This could all be a trap,"

"She keeps her composure!" Brook sang. "Come on, Robin-san!"

"He said samurai, Brook," Zoro said.

"Yes…it must be one of those samurai," Brook strummed. "The name of the swordsmen from the Wano Kingdom,"

"Wano Kingdom?" Daz questioned.

"The Wano Kingdom is an isolated nation which never lets outsiders enter," Brook explained. "It doesn't even have any ties to the World Government. Apparently the swordsmen called samurai are so strong even the Navy won't approach them,"

"But he said he was in Punk Hazard, not the Wano Kingdom," Franky said.

"That island is the only one within range of a baby snail," Robin told them as they all went back outside.

"Alright, let's go save that guy!" Luffy declared.

"No!"

"Luffy, think about it! Chances are, we're already too late!"

"Samurai are scary!"

"I'm scared too!"

"Cowards," Crocodile sneered.

"Says the one afraid of getting wet from the waves," Sanji said. Crocodile jumped over the deck's railing. "I didn't mean for you to jump into the sea! Did you forget you're a Devil Fruit user!? Idiot!"

But Crocodile came back onto the deck a few seconds later. Only his arms and sleeves were wet. He was holding a baby Bananawani that had a gash across its snout. "Chopper, please help her!"

"Bring her to my office quickly!" Chopper hurried.

XXX

"So who's going to the island?" Sanji asked. "As long as we have doubts that what we heard on the Den-Den Mushi is real, we shouldn't all leave the ship,"

"I'll stay here with the Bananawani," Crocodile offered.

"Oi, just because you helped to save Fishman Island doesn't mean we can trust you on the ship alone," Zoro said.

Crocodile glared at him. "I am not staying to just protect the Sunny. I am staying to protect Fang,"

"Franky, send out the Mini Merry!" Luffy ordered.

"Wait a second! Are you planning on going alone?" Nami asked her captain.

"You got a problem with that?" Luffy queried.

"Of course I do! Who knows where you'll run off to if we leave you alone!?" Nami answered.

"At least he won't get lost like Roronoa," Daz said.

"What's that!?" Zoro growled.

"Okay then!" Sanji said. "We'll need someone other than Little Lost Swordsies here to accompany him,"

"And what's that supposed to mean!?" Zoro shouted. "I'm gonna slice you up, Ero Cook!"

While the Swirly Brow and the Marimo were arguing, Franky agreed to accompany Luffy. "It sounds fun," Robin agreed.

"I-Is it okay if we sit this one out?" Usopp stuttered.

"I guess there's no helping it," Nami said. "Let's draw straws! Nobody has any complaints about that, right?"

"I'm staying no matter what you say so I won't draw," Crocodile said.

The ones that were going were Luffy, Daz, Zoro, and Robin. "Milky Road!" Nami swung her Clima Tact and produced a trail of clouds.

"Awesome! She made a pathway of clouds!" Luffy exclaimed. "You've learned to make that stuff that they used back on Sky Island?"

"It's just clouds, so you'd better cross it while it's still stable," Nami told him.

"Got it!" Luffy nodded.

XXX

"Oh, we've climbed above the flames! This is fun!" Luffy said. "Now we can get past the sea of flames!"

"Good thing Boss didn't come along," Daz folded his arms and looked down to the sea of flames. "He'd most likely be turned to glass. At least these flames are not as hot as the ones in Impel Down,"

"Yeah, it's much cooler than Impel Down!" Luffy agreed.

"Will these clouds last until we head back?" Usopp asked worriedly.

"Good thing the rain stopped too," Luffy looked up to the sky.

"Perfect weather for scouting," Robin smiled.

"But it's so hot," Usopp whined.

"Would you rather it be the flames of Impel Down's Burning Hell?" Daz Bones asked.

"N-No!" Usopp shook his head frantically. "I'm fine with these flames!"

XXX

"Nami-san, does that cloud reach all the way to the island?" Brook asked.

"I don't know," Nami shrugged. "But I'm sure Luffy will manage somehow,"

"Nami-san, that's so harsh!" Brook said.

"I'm so glad I didn't have to accompany Luffy," Chopper groaned.

"CHOPPER!" Crocodile ran out with a bucket of ice water and dumped it onto the reindeer.

"Ah, that feels better," Chopper said. "Thanks Croc. How's Fang?"

"She says that her snout still hurts," Crocodile answered.

"You can understand it?" Brook asked.

" _Her_ ," Crocodile corrected. "And yes, I understand Bananawani. I've been surrounded by them for years after all,"

XXX

"Oh, I can see the erupting island!" Luffy said. "See? That's definitely the entrance!"

"Now listen, people might have lived here before," Usopp told the gang. "But there's no way they could live here now! The Den-Den Mushi must have picked up a transmission from some distant island!"

"Impossible," Daz said. "Baby Den-Den Mushi have a smaller range,"

"Robin, at least you've got to agree with me!" Usopp looked to his friends.

However, Robin and Zoro were calmly eating the lunch boxes Sanji had prepared. "It doesn't look pretty but it's surprisingly tasty,"

"You too!? Why are you eating it now!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"You're not gonna eat?" Zoro questioned.

"I couldn't swallow anything right now!" Usopp snapped.

"Looks like Mugiwara is gonna eat yours for you," Daz pointed to Luffy who was salivating while staring at Usopp's untouched boxed lunch.

"Ah, I'm having an unexpected relapse of my disease from two years ago!" Usopp said dramatically. "Hey you guys, I've got the 'I can't enter that island' disease!"

"What exactly is your role in the crew?" Daz asked. "You're just a coward,"

"He's our sniper," Robin informed her colleague.

Usopp began listing several symptoms such as headaches and chest pains, but everyone just ignored him. Within a few more minutes, they landed on Punk Hazard. "It's so hot…" Usopp commented.

Robin found a partially melted sign. "No doubt about it. This is the right place,"

"Let's get the Merry on the island," Luffy pulled on the ship while Zoro pushed. "Hey Daz, help us out here!" Daz Bones calmly walked over to them and helped to push the ship, making it much easier.

"So the emergency signal came from this place after all?" Zoro asked.

"Looks like it's forbidden to enter this island," Robin said.

"Luffy look at that!" Usopp pointed to a danger sign.

"Danger…Keep out?" Luffy read.

"See? The logos of the World Government and Navy are here!" Usopp pointed at the triangles. "Meaning, even if someone is inside, it'll be someone on the Government's side!"

"So what?" Daz Bones shifted his arms to blades. "I'll just cut them down,"

Zoro walked over to the gate and sliced it down. "Alright, it's open!" Luffy said. A few footsteps after passing the gate, Luffy was whining. "It's so hot!"

"Hey you guys! Breaking and entering is a crime!" Usopp called.

Daz turned to him. "We are pirates. We have already broken the law and we all have bounties. Breaking and entering is nothing compared to what we have already done. Didn't you guys break into Enies Lobby? Didn't you guys declare war against the World Government? And didn't your captain punch a Celestial Dragon?"

"Ah…you do have a point…" Usopp gave in.

"This place doesn't look like it was always a burning island," Robin observed. "Was it some kind of disaster? Or an accident?" They paused, staring at the burning buildings. "They weren't probably people houses. This must have been a government facility,"

"So was this place sealed off after it caught fire and became too dangerous?" Zoro asked. "Or was it a dangerous facility to begin with?"

"The fact that the Log Pose doesn't point to this island bothers me," Robin said.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. "Guy from earlier, are you here? We've come to save you!"

"He's dead, Mugiwara," Daz said. "The snail coughed up blood,"

But Luffy being himself didn't listen. "Hey! Come out! Samurai!"

"Don't call the murderer!" Usopp told Luffy, eating his lunch.

"Did your appetite return?" Zoro questioned.

"Shut it!" Usopp snapped. "I'm drowning my sorrows!" He stuffed more food into his mouth. "Oh yeah, and this has been bothering me for a while…Didn't the guy on the Den-Den Mushi say he was freezing?"

"You've got a point," Luffy agreed. "It's so hot here, yet he said it was cold. Maybe he was an idiot?"

"What kind of reasoning is that!?"

"Could there be any cold places on this burning island?" Robin wondered.

"The other side of the island," Daz suggested. "This could be some sort of facility explosion so only this side is hot,"

XXX

"This is delicious, Sanji!" Chopper said, eating his ice cream. "I thought I was gonna melt in this heat!" He took another bite. "This helps me cool down!"

"I feel a sharp pain in my teeth!" Brook was eating the dessert too. "Perhaps I have hypersensitivity?"

"Remember that those are just Nami-san's leftovers!" Sanji shouted. "You'd better be grateful!" He then turned to Nami. "Nami-san, you get as many refills as you want!"

"Nami, is something wrong?" Franky asked.

"Well, the sky above the island is really weird now that I take a closer look at it," Nami commented. "It almost looks arctic on the far side,"

"That's impossible," Franky said.

"Crocodile," Sanji asked. "Do you want some? There's still some leftover ice cream,"

Crocodile shook his head. "I'm fine," He petted Fang, the Bananawani walking around the deck a bit. A small smile rested on his lips.

"Wow, you must really like animals," Chopper commented.

"All the Bananawani I kept in the lake of Rain Dinners were ones I rescued from poachers," Crocodile revealed.

Fang looked to Crocodile and said something. "You're the one that Mama and Papa talk about," Chopper translated. "They're from Alabasta! You rescued them when they were hatchlings!"

"That's _super_ heartwarming!" Franky wiped away some tears.

"To think that you have a heart!" Nami added, also crying a bit.

"You bastard! You made Nami-san cry!" Sanji kicked Crocodile.

Crocodile simply turned to sand.

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait! So this takes place after Fishman Island. I didn't really enjoy that arc much. There won't be much differences from the original until the fight scenes. If you're curious how Jinbei meeting Crocodile again went:**

 **Jinbei:** Crocodile!? **  
Crocodile:** Hi Jinbei! **  
Jinbei:** Are you smiling!? **  
Crocodile:** I like animals. Hey, since Fishman are like half-animals, wanna join the crew? Luffy, let's get Jinbei to join the crew! **  
Luffy:** Yosh! Great idea!  
 **Jinbei:** What the hell happened to Crocodile in the past two years!?


	5. Chapter 5

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

The dragon stared down at the humans, mouth salivating and dripping down globs of drool. Luffy's eyes turned to sparkles. "Awesome! It's so cool!"

"This is no time to be admiring it!" Usopp screamed.

The dragon let out a deafening roar. Usopp ran off while Luffy continued to admire the dragon. "Its roars are cool too!" He looked to the side of the dragon. "Cool! Cool!"

The dragon brought his head close to Luffy's. "Who goes there?" Seconds later, he tried to chomp at the rubber man. Luffy quickly dodged and the dragon began to chase them, specifically in Usopp's direction.

"AH! Stay away from me!" Usopp panicked. Before Usopp could get eaten, Luffy pulled him out of the way, sending him flying into the cobblestone. "What the hell are you doing!?"

"Hey! This thing just talked!" Luffy pointed at the dragon.

"Dragons can't talk," Zoro said.

"Nor can they exist naturally," Daz Bones added, changing his arms to blades.

"You must have imagined the voice!" Usopp told Luffy.

The dragon stomped towards them, growling hungrily. "Don't tell Boss because he _will_ get upset," Daz charged at the dragon, coating his bladed arms with Armament Haki.

The dragon exhaled a flamethrower at the group, prompting them to jump to the side. Daz tried to charge once more. He sliced the wings of the dragon, disabling its ability to fly. The dragon roared in pain at the membrane being teared. The dragon tried to exhale another flamethrower but Daz slashed at his snout, causing another wave of pain to surge throughout the lizard's body. The dragon tried to whip him with its tail, but Daz _sliced it off._

"Wow, Crocodile is going to be mad at you Daz," Robin said. "You hurt an animal,"

"That's why I said to not tell him," Daz remarked.

XXX

Everyone on the Thousand Sunny all thought one thing: "It's so hot!"

"Ah, I know!" Brook said. "We just need to change our point of view! What do you think? If this was a sauna, it would feel nice, right?"

"Cola is super-spouting out of my entire body!" Franky took large gulps of the soda.

"I can't believe this place is hotter than Alabasta!" Crocodile had been forced to resort to going shirtless. He was lying on the deck, Fang by his side. He had splashed water on both of them. "I can't believe I'm getting wet _willingly_!"

Meanwhile, Nami was observing the sky. "This is so weird… The island's sky is split into two sections just as I thought. A burning hot sky and an arctic one,"

"Then let's go to the arctic one!" Crocodile shouted. "I swear I will turn to glass soon!"

"I hope Luffy and the others haven't melted," Chopper said.

An explosion occurred in the distance. "Huh? What was that!?"

"You know…Mugiwara causing trouble and shit…" Crocodile groaned.

Some sort of gas spread throughout the Thousand Sunny's deck. Nami began to feel light headed. "What's wrong!?" Chopper asked, concerned.

"I don't know…I'm feeling…" Nami fell to her knees.

"I'm spacing out…" Brook said. "Did I…push myself…too hard?"

"Are these…symptoms of de-cola-ization?" Franky asked.

Crocodile noticed the pale yellowish gas floating in the air. He forced himself to sit up and cover his nose and mouth. "Show yourself!" People with hazmat suits on approached the unconscious crew members. Crocodile tried to stand up but the heat was getting to him and he had already inhaled quite a bit of the gas. "I've gotten…too complacent…" He collapsed along with the others.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji sang. "This time I thought I'd make us a cold shellfish crepe! Along with champagne!" He noticed it was quiet. "Huh? Are you sleeping?" He noticed the gas. "Mist?" He then also noticed _Crocodile_ was also unconscious. "Something's wrong! That lizard bastard wouldn't sleep on the deck like this," He began to cover his mouth but realized he had already inhaled a lot of it. A few seconds later, he also collapsed.

The hazmat suit guys tossed Sanji on deck with the others. "Three humans…one iron man…and two pets…Tie them all up!" The leader walked over to the railing. "Pirates are ideal for our purposes,"

XXX

There was a human sticking out of the dragon's back. Luffy pulled on the legs. "I say, who are you!?" The person asked. "Unhand me now-pooh!"

"Hey! I'm gonna get you out of there!" Luffy told him. "Hold still!"

"Should we slice the dragon apart to get to the torso?" Daz suggested.

"Nah," Usopp shook his head. "Just let Luffy do his thing," Luffy was still pulling on the legs. "Boy, he sure got himself wedged into the dragon's back. How could that even happen?"

"His upper half is inside the dragon, yet he speaks normally," Robin observed.

"Not even muffled," Zoro added. "Just who is he anyway?"

Luffy finally managed to pull the body out. Usopp screamed. "There's nothing there!"

"What's not there?" Luffy asked, sitting up. It had only been a pair of legs that detached from the dragon's body. "I tore him in half! Sorry!"

"Idiot, you think apologizing will fix this!? You killed him!" Usopp shouted.

"Then let's move on," Daz said.

"How could you be so heartless!?" Usopp asked.

"He's dead. There are no witnesses. He doesn't matter," Daz replied.

The suddenly the legs jumped and stood up. "Pooh-Am I free now?"

This caused Luffy and Usopp to scream once more. "The legs are speaking! What's going on!?"

"Zombie! Monster!"

"Hang on," Robin walked towards the dragon. "There's no sign of his body being torn off,"

"What's up with that?" Zoro asked.

"So…does that mean he was just a pair of legs all along?" Usopp questioned.

"What a weirdo!" Luffy said.

"He's pretty tall," Usopp walked towards the legs.

"Who goes there? What are you doing?" The legs asked. "I sense your presence but I have neither eyes nor ears,"

"You sure are unique!" Luffy complimented.

"Tough I know not who you are, you will let me pass!" The legs shouted and proceeded to attempt to kick Luffy.

Luffy dodged easily. "What?"

"I will not die here!" The legs said before starting to run off.

"He's running away!" Luffy yelled.

"You shall not get away with this! Foolish Shichibukai!" The legs shouted as it continue to run.

Luffy's eyes turned to sparkles. "Hey wait! Join my—"

"Cut it out, Luffy!" Usopp whacked his captain on the head.

"I'm gonna go catch him!" Luffy said. "In the meantime, you cook up a dragon barbecue!" He started to chase after the legs. "Wait, legs!"

"Sure. Let's slice it up, Roronoa," Daz said.

"I'm worried that he mentioned a Shichibukai," Robin told the others.

"Could that mean…that one of the Shichibukai is on this island too?" Usopp asked. "This is bad! This is dangerous! I don't want to face a Shichibukai!"

"Didn't you guys not only take down Crocodile but also Gekko Moriah?" Daz questioned.

"Y-Yeah but we had a tough time," Usopp answered.

"We all had two years to train and you now have Crocodile and me as part of your crew," Daz reminded.

A few minutes later, Luffy returned. They were all eating the dragon. The pair of legs was stuck to Luffy now. "I guess you're a centaur…right?" Usopp said.

"I'm a centaur!" Luffy cheered. "This is awesome!"

"Are you not the least bit worried about what the hell is with those legs?" Daz asked.

"They're mystery legs!" Luffy answered.

The legs struggled and thrashed around. "Damn! I have been attached to something again! Grr…I could just…Let me go!"

"That isn't very polite, Luffy," Robin said.

The legs reared back and smashed Luffy to the ground. "His upper half must be somewhere else. Give those legs back to their owner!"

"Don't you have any imagination, Usopp?" Luffy asked. "This is just the way he is. See?"

They had reached the lake, shocking everyone that across it was snow covered mountains. "This side is scorching hot with activate volcanoes but that place has snow and ice! What's up with this island!?"

"The guy on the Den-Den Mushi said it was cold," Daz reminded. "They're probably on that half of the island,"

XXX

Crocodile woke up to the sound of Sanji kicking metal. "Damn it…Where did those guys take us?"

"Some kind of metal room," Sanji answered. "Can't you turn the door to sand or something?"

"My Devil Fruit doesn't work on metal," Crocodile shook his head.

"This is terrible! We've been locked up!" Chopper cried.

"This is just a guess, but it seems likely that someone used sleeping gas on us and captured us while we were unconscious," Nami told them.

"The ship was gassed, there's no doubt about that," Sanji agreed.

"There were a bunch of guys in hazmat suits," Crocodile recalled.

"Are we gonna be sold off? Are they human traffickers?" Chopper asked.

"Don't worry, Chopper," Crocodile put a hand to the reindeer's head. "I won't let them hurt you or Fang,"

"Hey, if they got everyone who was on the ship, where is Brook?" Franky questioned.

"They most likely thought he was dead already," Crocodile answered. "It happens to many pirate crews; there's a fight amongst the crewmembers and someone dies. They either toss them into the sea or just let their corpse rot and turn into a skeleton,"

"You there," A new voice caught their attention.

"Did someone just say something?" Nami asked, alert.

"No, it wasn't any of us," Franky said.

"You there, do you enjoy a challenge?" There was a bunch of scattered pieces on the floor. "In particular, a puzzle,"

Chopper approached it. "Did this thing just speak? What is this?"

"This thing?" The mouth moved. "How insolent!"

Chopper screamed and ran to the others. "What is it? Some king of insect or a new king of Snail Phone?"

"There are eight of them!" Chopper panicked. "I didn't notice!"

"I am no pathetic insect!" The pieces shouted. "You do not seem like bad folk. These are all bits of my face. Forgive me, but could you put them back together for me?"

"Face? Now that you mention it…" Franky held up two pieces. "This is a mouth and this is an eye," He put a few pieces together.

"It's true! It became a face!" Chopper recognized the facial structure, though it was odd.

"No! There are quite a few parts leftover!" The man said.

"Isn't it like this?" Nami tried to piece them together.

"Completely wrong!"

"No, no, no…This should work," Sanji had a turn.

"We're making progress!" Franky claimed.

Crocodile sighed. "You all don't know how a face is supposed to look, do you?" He quickly put all the pieces into its proper place.

That's when realization came to everyone, though Crocodile wasn't shocked. "A detached head is talking!"

"How can you be alive!?" Chopper held a golden cross necklace. "Are you an evil spirit!?"

"I do not understand either," The man admitted. "I was not reduced to a head by choice. That fellow used some queer technique. I thought I would die upon being cut to pieces, yet I found myself in this state," He furrowed his brows. "To be cut up by the enemy and yet remain alive…is a disgrace to a warrior!"

"You're alive because of his Devil Fruit," Crocodile spoke up. "It was the Shichibukai Trafalgar Law, wasn't it?"

"How did you know?" The man asked.

"He's my nephew," Crocodile answered. Fang licked her lips and attempted to eat the head. Crocodile held her back. "Fang, you just ate a few minutes before we got gassed!"

XXX

The group had encountered a man with leopard legs. The mysterious centaur and Luffy had quickly gotten along, commenting that each other's legs were awesome. "You'll have to excuse me," The man apologized for attacking when he first caught sight of Luffy. "I was searching for intruders,"

"Oh really? You took me by surprise!" Luffy said.

"Aren't we the intruders?" Daz Bones asked quietly.

"Anyways your legs sure are cool!" Luffy complimented the other centaur.

"Well yeah," The centaur said. "Your hind legs are a bit weird though,"

"Really?" Luffy chuckled.

"Hey! Where are we!?" The legs demanded.

"Hey stay still!" Luffy ordered as the legs once again began to move on their own.

"What!?" The centaur exclaimed. "Your hind legs can talk!? Amazing! Even among my companions, nobody has legs like that! This is the first time I've seen this!"

"Companions? So there are more of them," Daz noted.

Unbeknownst to them, watching from afar was one of those companions who was notifying the harpy Usopp had seen earlier.

* * *

 **The reason that while Zoro had a slightly tough time with the dragon in the anime but in this fanfiction Daz easily defeated the dragon was because Daz used Armament Haki. Zoro did not coat his swords when fighting the dragon.  
The reason why Crocodile was captured like that was because spending too much time with the Straw Hats had caused him to be too relaxed. He was also sweating from the heat and didn't really make the effort to dry up the sweat since he'd just end up sweating some more.**

 **Please leave a review; it motivates me to continue.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

"Anyway, who are you people?" The head asked. "I overheard that you guys were dragged here from your ship,"

"We're pirates," Sanji answered.

The head's eyes visibly widened. "Pirates!? You people are pirates!?"

"Mr. Prince _just_ said that," Crocodile responded. "So yeah, we're pirates,"

"I loathe pirates," He claimed. "They make me vomit! I thought that perhaps it was fate that brought us to this island of ice at the same time, and that maybe we could escape together. But regrettably, since you are pirates—"

"Hey, wait a second," Franky interrupted. "What do you mean 'island of ice'? This is a burning island, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it was so hot back at the ship that we might have melted," Crocodile agreed.

"Even the ocean is on fire!" Chopper added.

"Wait," Nami said, walking up to the samurai head. "You said that this is an island of ice, right? Haven't you heard the volcanic eruptions?"

"I have heard the sound of explosions from time to time," The man told them. "But I came to this island via a sea of ice floes. Cease talking to me, you abominable pirates!"

"When we escape, let's leave him here," Crocodile said. "Or else I might not be able to stop myself from dehydrating him,"

"So the winter sky I saw from the ship," Nami realized. "It was real after all. The burning island Luffy and the others went to is from the other side. Basically, we've been taking to the arctic side! Though if we want to know who brought us here and why, we'll have to get out of this room and see for ourselves,"

"But Nami-san, the door is solid," Sanji motioned to the dent he made with his kicks. "It doesn't look like we'll be able to—"

"Out of my way!" Franky shouted. "I've got a full tank of cola!" He began to charge a beam.

"Hey! Hey, hey, wait a second!" Sanji and Nami quickly scurried out of the way.

"Franky Radical Beam!" Frank yelled, blasting the door. It was completely blown off its hinges. "It's open. Let's go out,"

"I see that weird body isn't just for show," Sanji commented.

"I wanna shoot beams too!" Chopper said.

"Me too!" Crocodile added. Sanji, Nami, Franky, and Chopper stared at him. "Oh…uh…I mean I'll use the beams to destroy all of my enemies!"

 _'Is he really the same Crocodile that tried to take over Alabasta?'_

The Straw Hat Pirates began to exit the room. "So what are you gonna do?" Sanji asked the samurai. "You'd want to escape with us if we weren't pirates, right?"

"Silence! Be on your way, pirate!" The man shouted.

"You heard the head," Crocodile picked Fang up. "Let's ditch him,"

Ignoring Crocodile, Sanji walked towards the severed body part. "There's no way for you to escape alone without a body," He picked the head up.

"What are you doing!?"

"Am I right, samurai of the Wano Kingdom!?" Sanji asked.

"He's a samurai!?" Chopper exclaimed.

"This topknot is a hairstyle unique to the Wano Kingdom," Sanji pointed out.

"Does that mean that the murderous samurai they mentioned on the Snail-Phone was him!?" Chopper's eyes widened with fear.

"Kuhahaha," Crocodile laughed. "Some murderous samurai he is now,"

Loud running was heard. "They've already noticed us?"

"Sanji, hurry!" Nami ushered. "They're coming for us!"

"We came here after receiving an emergency signal form someone you attacked, samurai!" Sanji told the head.

"I would never bring dishonor upon myself by committing murder!" The samurai claimed. "I came to this island to rescue my son! I will kill all who get in my way!"

"Bring him with us," Crocodile said.

"Huh?" Everyone was surprised it was Crocodile who first agreed to take him along.

"I'll help him rescue his kid so bring him with us," Crocodile repeated.

"There they are! Fire! Don't let them get away!" The hazmat suit guys were rushing towards them. They began to fire bullets.

"Sables!" Crocodile attacked them, dehydrating the hazmat suit guys.

The Straw Hat Pirates ran, knowing that more of them would probably appear. "Who the hell are they!?"

"There's a door!" They realized and headed for it.

"Biscuits Room?" Crocodile questioned. "Does that mean there's food?"

Sanji kicked the door open. The pirates were all shocked to discover the Biscuits Room was actually a playroom for giant children. The kids were shocked by the sudden appearance of the people. "Who are you?" A black haired girl asked, scared.

"Gigantic…children?"

"C-Children!?" The samurai exclaimed.

"What's going on here!?" Nami asked.

"It's full of kids. What is this place?" Franky questioned.

"Apparently this room was labeled Biscuits Room," Crocodile said.

XXX

"I see, so your friends all have cool back legs like these?" Luffy asked. "I want to meet them!"

"Indeed! I'm sure everyone will be impressed once they see your back legs!" The centaur said. "Come meet them!"

"Alright! Leotaur, as a symbol of our friendship," Luffy began. "Let's have a race to that burning tower!"

"Do we really have time to fool around like this?" Daz asked as the two centaurs raced.

"It's Luffy. What did you expect?" Zoro responded.

"What!?" Usopp exclaimed, speaking on the Den-Den Mushi. "Nami and the others have disappeared!? You mean you're alone!? And when you woke up, there was snow and ice all around you?"

 _"Yohoho! Indeed! I was so surprised! I felt like a bone in a thunderstorm! Huh? No wait…like thunder in a duckstorm…No, a duck in a bonestorm? Well, whatever!"_

"Were they trying to steal the cargo on the Sunny? Who were they?" Usopp asked.

 _"Well…I really don't know…I took them out before I got a chance to ask. They all appear to be wearing some kind of gas masks,"_

"Gas masks?" Robin questioned. "Perhaps they used some sort of sleeping gas?"

"Then we better hurry to find the others," Daz said.

Leotaur's Den-Den Mushi began to ring. "Hello?"

 _"What are you goofing around for?"_

"Well, I just can't find them," Leotaur said. "Are there really intruders here? All I've found are a funny guy with talking hind-legs and his group,"

 _"He is the intruder!"_

XXX

"Vice-Admiral Smoker! Gas is leaking everywhere!" Tashigi shouted. "Everyone, put on gas masks quickly! Punk Hazard is a terrible island,"

"Ever since that dam Vegapunk's weapon experiments failed four years ago, the whole island's gone rotten!" A soldier said.

"More importantly, I can't see Straw Hat Luffy's pirate ship anywhere!" Another soldier added. "There's no way anyone would come ashore with this much poisonous gas around,"

"No," Smoker said. "It is unnatural for there to be this much gas,"

"Two years ago, this was just a deserted island with no fire or ice on it," Smoker informed. "Surprisingly enough, most of the toxic materials had dissipated by then. That's why Akainu and Aokiji chose Punk Hazard as the site of their duel. A battle fierce enough to alter the climate!"

"Fierce enough…to change the climate?" Aura whispered. _'Does that mean that Crocodile really did die? Could he have survived Akainu's attack?'_

XXX

"Who are these kids?" Sanji asked.

"Perhaps this is some sort of nursery?" Nami wondered.

"They're absolutely huge. Are they giants?" Franky queried. "Did we drop anchor at an island of giants?"

"But there are some smaller kids too," Nami glanced at the shorter kids.

"Then, maybe this facility doesn't discriminate between races?" Sanji said.

"I don't see any adults though," Nami looked around.

"Hey, who are you?" A blonde boy asked.

"I don't know them," The black haired girl added. "Ah, could you be the frozen people? You made it out!?"

"Frozen?" Nami questioned.

"What's she talking about?" Sanji asked.

"This island is getting more and more mysterious," Franky commented.

All of the boys' eyes turned to sparkles at sight of Franky. "You're a robot! So cool! I love robots!" They rushed towards him and began admiring him and Chopper.

One of the normal sized kids walked up to Sanji. "Swirly eyebrows,"

"Can it you damn brat!" Sanji scolded, grabbing the boy's arm.

Crocodile grabbed Sanji's arm. "Let him go,"

Sanji jerked his arm away. "Brat's fault for insulting my eyebrows!"

"Ah! It's a crocodile!" The kids caught sight of Fang.

"No way! It's an alligator!" Another kid said.

Crocodile placed Fang on the floor. "She's a Bananawani,"

"So cool!" They began to pet her scales and Fang chirped happily.

"HAVE ANY OF YOU SEEN A CHILD NAMED MOMONOSUKE!?"

The kids were startled and ran off. "Scary! The head spoke! Run!"

"The enemy's reinforcements are heading in our direction!" Chopper reported.

"Let's get going then!" The group began to run.

"Sables!" Crocodile attacked the hazmat guys once again.

XXX

"Hey Robot-san, you aren't form this island are you?" The blonde boy asked.

"Of course not. But boy, I am a cy—,"

"Do you have a ship?" The boy interrupted.

"Of course we do!" Franky boasted. "Our Sunny is the world's—"

"Save us!" The boy begged. "Please, save us!"

"What do you mean, save you?" Sanji asked.

"This isn't a nursery!?" Chopper questioned.

"Please help us!" The black haired girl pleaded.

"Please!" The rest of the kids joined in. "Take us out of here! Please!"

Crocodile stopped, eyes wide at the children's please.

 _Screams._

 _"HELP!"_

 _Blood._

" _PLEASE! DON'T HURT THEM!"_

 _Flames._

 _"RUN!"_

 _Corpses._

 _"SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!"_

"Crocodile, snap out of it!" Nami shook the former Shichibukai's shoulder.

"We'll help you," Crocodile told the kids.

"We don't have time to help them!" Sanji snapped. "We need to get out of here! Those kids will only be trouble to us!"

"Shut up!" Crocodile growled. "If you guys won't help them, then I will!"

"Weren't you the one that tried to take over Alabasta two years ago?" Sanji pointed out.

"I have my reasons for wanting to help the kids," Crocodile told him. "I _will_ help these kids, whether you guys will help too or not,"

"I…I wanna go home!" The black haired girl cried and they continued to follow the Straw Hat Pirates.

"I agree with Crocodile! Let's take them with us!" Chopper said.

"Idiot! We don't even know where to go ourselves!" Franky told him. "What good would come from bringing all those kids along!?"

"We're being chased right now and a large group of kids will not help," Nami admitted.

"Then…" The kids stopped running. "Come back and save us later! Even though I haven't been outside, I know this island is empty! There's no town here and no people! That's why nobody's come to help us! I wanna see Mommy and Daddy! Please come back! Come back to save us!"

"Crocodile and Chopper are right," Nami said. "Let's help these children!"

"What are you saying, Nami-san!?" Sanji exclaimed. "There's no reason to do that! They even said they were sick! This might be a hospital! We only just met them, and we don't know what's going on here! It's not like we're a charity that rescues children!"

"You think I don't know that?" Nami asked. "But when children are crying for us to save them, how can I turn my back on them!?"

"Quickly, they're getting away!" The hazmat suit guys were getting closer.

"Those kids are in the way!"

"Who cares!? Kill the children too!"

"But Master will—"

"It's still better than letting them get away!"

The children screamed as the guns were pointed at them. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Crocodile placed his hands on the floor. "Sand Shark Feeding Frenzy!" Four sharks made of sand formed and "swam" towards the enemies. They jumped out of the floor and started to chomp at them, causing the hazmat suit guys to scream in pain. "I won't let you lay a finger on these kids!"

Franky, Chopper, Fang, and Sanji also attacked the hazmat suit guys. "Chopper, Fang, Crocodile," Sanji said. "Go ahead with Nami-san,"

"Sure," The three of them went beside Nami.

"Kids, follow the beautiful Nami-san, Kung Fu raccoon-dog, Bananawani, and Sandman," Sanji ordered. "Frank and I'll hold back the pursuers! But don't get the wrong idea! I'm only responding to the longing in Nami-san's heart to save you. If anything, I hate you for stealing Nami-san's affection!"

"Swirly bro, thanks!" A boy said.

"Shut it, you damn brat!" Sanji shouted. "Get lost!"

"Come on kids," Crocodile said.

* * *

 **The reason for Crocodile wants to help the kids has to do with his past. He too misses his parents and wants the kids to reunite with their own parents. When he was eight, his village was attacked by pirates and the only survivors were him and Alligator. This was shown in Chapter 1 of** _ **The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator.**_

 **Sand Shark Feeding Frenzy belongs to Matt.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

"This wall of ice stretches as far as the eye can see," A G-5 soldier said. "Even though we're protected from the gas, it doesn't mean anything if we can't get to shore,"

"Don't give up yet," Smoker ordered. "Continue circling the island,"

"Or we could just blast the ice?" Aura suggested.

A loud explosion was heard and they caught sight of a reddish liquid flowing into the ocean. "Is that lava!?"

"Stop the ship," Smoker ordered.

"Huh?" But they all obeyed the order. "What is it?"

"Over there," Smoker pointed at part of the ice.

"Prepare the cannons!" Tashigi commanded. "Fire, please!"

A large chunk of ice broke and fell into the sea, allowing the ship to flow through it like a river. "It worked!"

"However," Smoker said. "Was the ice blocking the river naturally or was it placed there intentionally?"

"Intentionally," Aura said. "It has to be intentionally. There's too much poisonous gas and that river was being blocked. It's not a coincidence,"

"You may be right, Rear-Admiral Aura," Tashigi said.

XXX

"Come on kids!" Chopper called. "You better run if you wanna get out!"

"To freedom everyone!" Crocodile shouted. "Let's escape this facility together!"

 _"Freedom!"_ Fang cried out.

"Wow, you three are really excited aren't you?" Nami asked.

"Sanji gave me a mission!" Chopper responded. "We have to protect the children and get them out safely!"

"Why're you energized?" Nami looked to the ex-Shichibukai.

"I'm helping the kids," Crocodile replied. "I'm gonna get them home to their parents. It's my promise them,"

"You've sure changed a lot," Nami commented. "Why though?"

Crocodile's smile disappeared. "I know how it feels like to miss your family. It's not a good feeling,"

"Sand-niichan, can't you just visit your family? Your crew has a ship," One of the kids said.

Crocodile shook his head. "I can't,"

"Why not? Don't you know where they are?" Chopper queried.

"They're in the afterlife," Crocodile replied. "The village Alligator and I lived in was attacked when I was eight years old and Al was one. We were the only survivors and were taken in by Sengoku,"

"So sad!" The kids cried, sympathizing with him.

"That's why I promise that I will get you kids off this island and back to your parents," Crocodile stated.

More hazmat suit guys appeared but Chopper quickly took them out with a few kicks and chops.

XXX

The G-5 soldiers fired cannonballs towards the giant glacier. However, this created smaller but still large chunks of ice falling towards tem. Tashigi jumped and sliced one of them. Aura fused her fists with Haki and punched the rest. "We'll soon be finished traveling this river," Smoker said.

"It's taking too long!" Aura said. "Can't we go any faster!?"

"Would you rather swim in these frigid waters?" Smoker retorted.

"Ah…no…" Aura quieted down. _'But if we don't hurry, who knows what else will happen? There might be more traps ahead of us,'_

XXX

"Master," One of the hazmat suit guys addressed a pinkish gas.

"Did you catch the escaped prisoners?" The gas asked.

"No, I came to report on the G-5 ship," The hazmat suit guy said.

"Oh, them?"

"The poison gas cloud didn't stop them," The hazmat suit guy reported. "At the moment, the warship is using its cannons to destroy the ice walls and they're slowly making their way inland. Before long, they'll reach this laboratory!"

"Why?" Master asked. "Why do they go to such lengths to land on this island? Did they get tipped off in some way? Who I commanding the ship?"

"It's Vice-Admiral Smoker,"

"Smoker!?" Master exclaimed. "Of all the people, it had to be such a troublesome man! Conceal the ships that are docked at the main entrance!"

"Should we deal with them?" He asked.

"Nobody is allowed to be here so make sure they don't see you," Master ordered. "There's no way I could go out there,"

"But there's no way we could stop them then," The hazmat suit guy said.

"Want me to go?" Law asked from the doorway.

"And me!" Another figure stood at the other side of the doorway. He had messy dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He stood a few inches taller than Law. "Don't forget than I'm here too!"

XXX

The warship finally reached the shore and dropped anchor. "Finally!" Aura jumped down onto the solid ground. "It's been forever!"

"So far we've only landed on the island, Aura-san," Tashigi reminded. "We can't let our guards down,"

"I know that," Aura sighed. "Hey, there's no purple gas. We can take off our masks! Wait…what happened to all that gas from before?"

"They stopped emitting it from this island, whoever is here," Smoker said.

"Smoker-san, isn't this…" Tashigi began.

"Doctor Vegapunk's research facility," Smoker finished. "Or rather it used to be. It's supposed to be abandoned, an empty building devoid of people or equipment," He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. "But it still has power,"

"Hey! Come out!" A bunch of soldiers shouted. "What's wrong!? Are you screed of us!?"

"There's no need to be polite and ring the doorbell," One of them said. "We can open the door in no time if we just blast it with the ship's cannons, Smokey,"

"We don't know if it's some kind of trap behind this door if we force it open," Aura told them.

"Hey! Answer!" They began to kick and punch the door. "Open the door! You listening!? This island is off-limits! Whoever you are, you're under arrest, moron!"

One of the doors creaked open. Two tall figures stepped out from the shadows, taking slow footsteps that echoed. "Why are we walking slowly again?" The slightly taller figure asked.

"Only an idiot would run out into a squad of Marines," The shorter of the two responded. "What business do you have at my vacation home, White Hunter?" His identity became recognizable as "Surgeon of Death" Trafalgar Law.

"Technically it's my home too since I also live here," The second man also walked into the light. "Hey there, Aura,"

"C…" Aura's eyes were wide in shock, knowing who the second man was. "Commodore Eric!?"

"T-That man…" The G-5 soldiers were focused on Law. "A former rookie with a 440 million beri bounty…but now he's a Shichibukai…Trafalgar Law!"

"Let's get out of here, Smoker-san!" Some of the G-5 soldiers said. "I don't want anything to do with that guy!"

"Hey, am I invisible or what? I'm here too!" Eric jumped in front of Law.

"Who the hell are you?" The G-5 looked generally confused.

"I'M ERIC!" Eric snapped.

"He's a Navy HQ commodore," Aura informed. "But he was reported killed nearly thirty years ago!"

"I survived that day, Aura," The man said. "Last I recalled was that you snitched on me, Marcus, and Evan,"

"You were harming Rocinante and Alligator just because Crocodile was rising in rank faster than you guys!" Aura snapped.

"Crocodile?" Tashigi asked. "Aura, do you mean Sir Crocodile, the former Warlord?"

"Yeah," Aura nodded. "Crocodile used to be a rear admiral,"

"WHAT!?" The G-5 soldiers exclaimed. "Crocodile was a Marine!?"

"Eric here is the reason why Crocodile left the Navy," Aura glared at the ex-soldier. "He nearly killed Croc's younger brother. In retaliation, Croc attacked the suspects, Eric being one of them. After that, Croc left the Navy,"

"So that's why Crocodile's brother, Alligator, was a Marine," Tashigi realized.

"That still doesn't answer the question of why they are here," Smoker said. "This island is forbidden to both pirates and the Government alike!"

"I could ask you the same thing," Law responded.

* * *

 **Now I've introduced Eric, another antagonist. He'll be around Vergo's strength but not as strong as him.**

 **Any questions about Eric? Ask them in the reviews. Yes, he will have a Devil Fruit.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

"If that Eric guy is a commodore, why is he with Trafalgar Law?" Tashigi asked.

"He's considered a traitor," Aura answered. "He should be arrested!"

"And you, Trafalgar Law," Tashigi turned to the Shichibukai. "Even if you area Warlord, you must do as we say in this matter. Please step aside! We know for a fact that there are other people on this island besides you!"

"Yeah, it's called me!" Eric shouted. "Of course he's not alone!"

XXX

"Daddy! Mommy!" The kids cried.

"Hey, you said you weren't sick anymore, right?" Chopper asked. "What disease did you have?"

"I don't know," A boy with a Mohawk-ish hairstyle answered. "They just said 'you have a disease' and that 'you'll be fine after a year',"

"A disease that passes after a year?" Chopper questioned.

"Yeah," He nodded. "Mommy and Daddy asked some people to cure me and then those people took me here,"

"So your parents told you to come here?" Nami queried.

"No, it was those people," The boy explained. "They told me all of this outside of me house…"

"So your parents didn't tell you to go with them?" Crocodile concluded. "They were lying to you. You were never sick in the first place,"

"But why are we so big?" A girl asked.

"Some kind of drug that they probably told you was medicine or something," Crocodile answered.

"Ah, they gave us this red spheres that they told us were candy!" The girl recalled. "Whenever we went a long time without it, our heads would hurt really badly though,"

"Withdrawal symptoms…" Chopper said. "Don't eat those candies ever again! They're an addictive drug!"

They came to a large door. "We have to hurry!" She tried to open it.

With a few hits, Chopper knocked the whole door down. "You've gotten really powerful, Chopper," Nami commented. She suddenly shivered. "It's freezing! W-What is this place!? It's so dark…wait, it's not a dead end. Come on, let's get moving!"

"I don't want to go in there! It's scary!" One of the girls shouted.

"Scary?" Crocodile asked. "What do you mean?"

"They took me through here when I first came to this island!" Tears began to form at the corner of her eyes.

"Then it must be the exit!" Nami said. "It's pretty cold but try to bear it!"

"That's not the problem!" She told her. "I mean…around us…"

"There's something inside the walls," Nami and Chopper glanced around.

Crocodile went up to the large chunks. "Frozen humans,"

"EH!? F-Frozen _humans_!?"

"H-How can you be sure?" Chopper stammered.

"I've seen Aokiji freeze people before. These silhouettes belong to humans, there's no doubt about that,"

"I'm scared of this place because there are frozen people here!" The girl said.

"Just ignore them," Crocodile said. "Kids, don't you want to go home to your parents? These guys are already dead so they won't hurt you. If we stop now, the hazmat guys will take you back to the Biscuit Room. We'll go through here really fast so it won't take that long,"

"O-Okay Sand-niichan,"

XXX

"Two years ago, during the incident with the Celestial Dragons from the Roswald House, you, Kid, and Luffy worked together," Smoker said to Law.

"Hey, stop ignoring me!" Eric growled. "If you won't acknowledge me, then I'll just attack!" He drew his sword and charged towards Aura.

Aura drew her own sword and blocked. "Why are you here on this island!?"

"It's my home now," Eric claimed. "I'm renting a room out to Law here. It's my business; a hotel or motel of some sorts,"

"Bastard, leave Aura-chan alone!" The G-5 soldiers tried to slash at him.

Eric easily blocked their attacks, using Armament Haki from time to time. "Your squad is a group of weaklings, Aura,"

Voices were heard, causing everyone to stop. It was coming from inside the laboratory. "There's someone in there after all!"

The other door that Law wasn't leaning against was kicked off its hinges. The Straw Hat Pirates and kids were out. "Were out of the building! We can go home!"

"The Straw Hats…and children!?" Tashigi stared as they posed similarly to Franky.

"Hi nephew," Crocodile greeted Law.

"NEPHEW!?"

"Wait, who the hell are you and how are you related to Trafalgar Law?" Tashigi asked.

"I'm Crocodile and this here is Fang," He held up his animal companion. "Roci's my brother who adopted Law as his kid,"

"C-Crocodile!?" G-5 exclaimed. "No way! He looks a bit different! Wait—he has no scar and has both hands!"

Aura looked around. "Where did Eric go!?"

Eric was with the kids, fawning over Franky and his coolness. "Awesome! It's a robot!"

"Of all the atrocious fiends to run into, it's Smoker!" Sanji recognized the white haired Marine. He also saw Tashigi. "And with him is always a cutie-swan!" He also saw Aura. "Who is this new beautiful lady?" Despite Aura being nearly Crocodile's age, she looked pretty young as if she were a few years older than Tashigi.

"Don't you dare flirt with her," Crocodile said in a threatening tone.

"Who are you to order me around!?" Sanji snapped.

"Her best friend," Crocodile answered.

"Croc!" Aura shouted. "Eric's alive!"

"Umm…Aura could you remind me who Eric was again?" Crocodile asked.

"One of the Marines that beat up Rocinante and Alligator because they were jealous that you were being promoted to Rear Admiral," Aura answered.

"Quickly kids!" Sanji ordered the children. "We need to find another exit. Through to the other side! There's gotta be a back door!"

Sanji, Nami, Chopper, Franky, and the kids began to run through the laboratory again. "What's the Navy doing here!?"

"They're here, aren't they!?" Smoker shouted to Law. "Alone, my ass!"

"They were indeed here…to my surprise," Law admitted.

"We were kidnapped from the Thousand Sunny," Crocodile claimed.

"Aura, you left yourself wide open!" Eric appeared behind Aura.

"Aura-chan!" G-5 called.

"Aura-san!" Tashigi turned to her comrade.

Before Eric's sword could slice Aura, his blade yet again clashed with another. Crocodile had taken one of the soldiers' swords and fused it with Armament Haki, shattering Eric's sword. Aura stumbled back, falling to the snow. "Croc!"

"I won't let you hurt her!" Crocodile yelled, expression showing his anger.

"Room!" Law recited, forming the dome. "They've made things _much_ more complicated. Tact," He flicked his pointer finger upwards. The warship began to float in mid-air. "Sorry that I said there wasn't anyone here,"

"Hey Law," Eric called. "You can fight Smoker. I'm killin' Crocodile and Aura,"

"Don't order me around," Law flicked a few large pieces of rocks towards Eric.

Eric dodged. "Geez, no need to be rude,"

"Go Smokey!" G-5 cheered as Smoker prepared to fight Law.

"Men, don't forget that there is another enemy!" Tashigi reminded. "Aura-san, what are his weaknesses?"

"When he was my comrade, he was a skilled close combatant," Aura answered. "He wasn't much of a swordsman. However, that was many years ago,"

"I can't let the Straw Hats escape either," Law said, quickly switching the bodies of Franky, Chopper, Nami, and Sanji.

"What did you do to my nakama!?" Crocodile demanded as he dodged a punch.

"I switched their souls around," Law answered.

"Keep your eyes on the enemy, Crocodile!" Eric said, picking up another sword to fight Crocodile with. "You're pirate scum, Crocodile!"

Crocodile used Soru to quickly dodge. However, his eyes widened as he realized that one of Eric's arm was missing and he had a small trail of ashes. "Behind you!" Aura warned Crocodile.

Crocodile turned around just in time to see the Haki imbued sword pierce his side. He coughed up blood, turning back to solid and falling to the ground. Seeing the ashes brought back memories, his eyes wide as he remembered the day he left the Marines. It was also the same day that he had received the scar across his face and had lost his hand.

"Eric!" Aura picked up her sword and charged towards the traitor.

Eric laughed as he dodged her swings. "Pathetic! Look at Crocodile, he was brought down with only one stab!"

Fang nudged Crocodile's arm. _"Get up, Croc! You need to help save your friend! And then we're gonna help the kids!"_

Crocodile blinked back to reality. "You're right,"

The G-5 soldiers, unable to understand lizards, were confused. "Are you agreeing with that Eric guy?"

"No, I'm agreeing with Fang," He got up, petting Fang's snout. "If you want to protect something, you have to do it right," He began to create sand. "Sables!"

Eric countered by firing a blast of ashes, stopping the attack. "Crocodile, you sand's ability is to dehydrate. My ashes' ability is to heat up," He grabbed Aura by the throat.

Aura screamed. "It burns!"

"Aura!" Crocodile rushed towards them.

Eric quickly kicked Crocodile in the stomach, knocking him back. "Move and I'll _kill_ Aura,"

Crocodile stayed still, glaring at him from the ground. He laid on his back, not wanting Aura to get hurt. "Bastard…"

Eric brought his sword down across Crocodile's chest, blood spurting out. Crocodile' coughed up even more blood and his body went limp. Aura's eyes widened. "CROCODILE!"

Eric tossed Aura to the ground. "Don't worry, he's still alive. I'll play around with him while you're unable to stop me," He picked Crocodile up. "Oi Law, let's put Smoker and Crocodile in a cell or something,"

"Don't order me around!" Law snapped, holding Smoker's heart. "If you want to, then you carry him,"

"Geez, fine, fine," Eric also picked Smoker up and headed back inside the lab.

XXX

"Hey, that's the guy who saved Croc and Daz's lives!" Luffy recognized Law.

"Mugiwara-ya," Law said.

Daz spotted Fang in the snow, sporting a scared expression of Law. "Fang?" He called her over and the baby Bananawani waddled over to him. "Where's Boss?"

Fang chirped loudly. _"Croc was defeated! He's badly injured!"_ She looked to Law.

"You have something to do with Boss' disappearance, don't you?" Daz asked.

"No," Law denied. "Mugiwara-ya, we are pirates. Don't forget that,"

"Shishishi," Luffy grinned. "Guess you're right. If we're both going for One Piece then that makes us enemies…"

Fang was still chirping angrily at Law. _"Don't trust him! He's with Eric!"_

"Trafalgar!" The Navy began to rush towards them. "You and that partner of yours will pay for what you did to Smokey, Tashigi-chan, and Aura-chan!"

"Give back Smoker-san!" Tashigi shouted but was easily knocked out by Law.

"Hey Torao—"

"Go behind the laboratory," Law instructed. "You'll find what you're looking for there. I'm sure we'll meet again. We both have something we want back,"

Daz Bones only glared at Law, untrusting before catching up with the rest of the group.

XXX

"Hey there! Hey guys!" Luffy and his group caught up to Sanji's group.

"What's with the giant kids?" Usopp asked.

Daz noticed that Crocodile wasn't with them. "Where's Boss?"

"He stayed back to fight that guy that was with Law," Nami answered in Franky's body.

"Huh? Franky, your voice is weird," Luffy said.

After finding some shelter, Nami explained what had happened. "But no one besides the Navy was with Torao!"

"Then…Crocodile must have been defeated…" Nami told them.

Fang nuzzled against Brownbeard's legs. "Hey…" Brownbeard said.

"Fang misses her parents," Chopper said. "She was separated from them. Your legs are those of a crocodile which is very similar to Bananawani.

XXX

"Tashigi-chan, Aura-chan, what are we going to do now?" The soldiers asked.

Aura was curled up, crying. "Crocodile…"

"Smoker-san…" Tashigi whispered.

"Uh…" The G-5 soldiers were unsure of what to do. "Aura-chan, since you're a rear admiral, what do we do?"

 _'I need to act like a rear-admiral! I'm not a baby so I shouldn't be crying!'_ Aura wiped the tears away. "There were the initials C.C. I've seen the same papers as Smoker. There has to be a scientist on this island, the same one that used to be partnered with Vegapunk. His name is Caesar Clown,"

"Aura-san, if my memory serves me correctly then a lot of children have been abducted in this region over the last few years," Tashigi said.

"Then those kids were probably the ones in those reports," Aura said. "Problem is that there were no missing children reports,"

"They were published in the newspapers as piracy and shipwrecks," Tashigi informed.

"There are too many kids on this island for it to be coincidental," Aura told her. "They're the kidnapped children and the kidnapper is the one on this island. However, there has to be a spy within G-5. They would be the ones lying to the media,"

"Then someone in G-5 is betraying the Navy!?"

"Aura-san, we're not traitors!"

"We're outcasts but we would never betray the Marines!"

"No one here would do such a thing!"

"It's unlikely that it's you guys," Aura told the men. "You're too…"

"Too what!?"

"Well Smokey calls you guys idiotic," Aura shrugged.

"EH!?"

"But remember that all organizations contain multiple people," Aura said. "No branch is perfect. Spies can be anywhere,"

They put their feet together and saluted. "Yes, Rear-Admiral Aura-chan!"

XXX

"We have permission to kill anyone and everyone on this island," Caesar said, finishing his phone call. "Joker will make it look like it was all an accident,"

"I don't wanna kill Smoker, Crocodile, and Aura yet," Eric whined. "I wanna torture them!"

"You're so villainous," Monet giggled.

"We don't follow the rules," Eric reminded. "We _are_ villains,"

"You're not wrong about that," Monet smiled.

Eric walked over to the cell which housed the tied up Smoker and Crocodile, both having regained conscious. "I'm gonna have so much fun,"

Crocodile spat towards his direction, the wad of saliva landing on Eric's cheek. "Go to hell damn bastard,"

Eric's eye twitched as he opened the cage and drew a dagger, stabbing it into Crocodile's shoulder. Crocodile bit his tongue to try to prevent himself from screaming. Eric was unsatisfied with this and twisted the dagger until Crocodile _did_ scream. Afterward, he wiped the blood from his weapon before leaving the cage and locking it back up.

Eric laughed as Caesar tricked the centaur into thinking he was inhaling medicine. "Think we can toss Croco in there for a bit but not long enough to kill him?"

"Oh?" Caesar smirked. "I've never tried testing it on a Devil Fruit user. But I have a better plan for those two,"

XXX

The cage door opened once more and Law, Luffy, Franky, Robin, Tashigi, Aura, and Daz were tossed in.

"Aura! Law!" Crocodile called.

"Crocodile!" Aura exclaimed at the sight of her friend, bloodied and injured. "Are you alright!?"

"I've been better," He chuckled dryly. "How did you guys get captured?"

"Caesar," Aura answered.

"Vergo knocked me out," Law said. "He has my heart,"

"It's Vergo- _san,_ " Vergo told him, squeezing the organ in his hand.

Law screamed in pain. "Law!" Crocodile called, worriedly.

"You're lucky I'm not gonna kill you yet," Eric hissed at the ex-Shichibukai.

"Seeing you two in a cage really takes me back," Robin said to Luffy and Smoker.

"Oh yeah," Luffy recalled. "You, Croc, and Daz captured me and Smoke-man back in Alabasta!"

"Alabasta was cooler," Crocodile claimed. "I had a bunch of Bananawani that were gonna eat you guys all up,"

"We have a Bananawani," Vergo held up the baby lizard, petting her scales.

"Fang!" Crocodile shouted. "Hey—why are you enjoying the pets he's giving you!? Are you betraying me!?"

 _"Relax,"_ Fang chirped. _"I'm only pretending to like it,"_

"Vergo, why are you with Caesar?" Aura demanded. "Why are you betraying the Navy!?"

"He was never with the Navy to begin with," Crocodile said. "He's one of Joker's executives, specifically the previous title holder of Corazon,"

"How do you know that?" Smoker asked.

"I have some connections to the underworld," Crocodile told them. "Also, I caught sight of Doflamingo chatting with him once,"

"Doflamingo?" Tashigi questioned. "That means Doflamingo is Joker!?"

"Yeah," Crocodile nodded.

"So _he_ was the one changing the kidnapping reports to shipwrecked ones," Aura growled.

"You said it'd be bad if I ran into G-5 but it wasn't much trouble," Vergo said as he poured himself a drink. "I've trained my pets for so long they don't doubt me. Even if my true nature was revealed, I'd just eliminate them and claim it was an accident at sea,"

"You bastard!" Aura snapped.

Eric opened the cage once more and continued to kick Crocodile. "What a weakling! To think that you almost took over Alabasta! How did the Marines never catch you before Mugiwara appeared?"

"Leave him alone!" Aura tackled Eric.

Eric glared at her, drawing his dagger. "Guess it's your turn now,"

Crocodile bit Eric's ankle. "Stay…away…from her…"

"Eric, get out of the cage," Caesar ordered. "It's time to begin the transmission,"

XXX

They were being dangled outside of the lab, unsafe from the poisonous gas. "We're going to die…" Aura whispered.

"Aura, I won't let you die here," Crocodile promised. "I _will_ kill Eric. This time I'll make sure he's dead and then he won't be able to harm you anymore,"

"Crocodile," Tashigi asked. "You and Aura-san are on opposite sides. Why do you want to protect her?"

"Because friends look out for each other," Crocodile answered, wincing as he moved into a more comfortable position.

"I hadn't anticipated Vergo-s arrival but nonetheless," Law said. "Mugiwara-ya, we don't have time to dawdle here. The plan hasn't changed. It's time for our counterattack,"

* * *

 **Over three thousand words! Wow, that's like a new record for the length of one of my chapters! Anyways, instead of just Vergo, now they'll have to deal with Eric.**

 **Please leave a review! Your comments are always welcomed!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

"Fighting back?" Tashigi asked. "How?"

"My chains aren't seastone," Crocodile revealed. "Yours aren't either, Law,"

"If you're not in seastone, why don't you just change to sand and get us out of here then?" Tashigi asked.

"I'm covered in _blood_ ," Crocodile reminded.

"I prefer to escape behind a smokescreen," Law said. "Can anybody here burn things?"

"Franky can set fires," Luffy informed. "He can even shoot a laser beam! Franky, why don't you burn this chain with the beam?"

"I need to use both hands to shoot the Radical Beam," Franky motioned to his tied up hands. "The only thing I can is Coup de Boo from my ass!"

"Gross…" Crocodile mumbled.

"Whatever," Law said, unfazed by the gross act. "Can you set fire to the Marine ship down there on the right?"

"That's as easy as pie, young man! You can count on me!" Franky stood up. "Franky…Fireball!" He exhaled a large ball of flames that set the broken Marine ship ablaze.

XXX

"Huh?" Caesar stared at the screen. "What is he doing? Is he just desperate? That Pacifista bastard! After the experiment, I'll chop up their bodies and put them to good use,"

"I'll chop up Crocodile's and Aura's," Eric offered. "I'll need some pictures afterwards. I'll cherish this moment for as long as I live,"

"You have issues," Monet commented.

"I do not!" Eric defended. "I just want to remember the day I got my revenge!"

Fang tried to grab Law's heart from Vergo's pocket. Vergo kept it away from her. "This isn't food. You can't eat it _yet_ ,"

 _"I'm not gonna eat it. I'm gonna return it to Law!"_

XXX

Law removed his chains before using Shambles to teleport his sword. He drew Kikoku and freed Crocodile, Luffy, Robin, Daz, and Franky. He then looked to Smoker, Tashigi, and Aura. "Now what should I do with you three?"

"You can let Aura go and then leave those two to die?" Crocodile suggested.

"Croc…" Aura addressed in a threatening tone.

"Fine, can you also free Smoker and Tashigi?" Crocodile sighed.

"I have no obligation to save you but if letting you go back to the base safely makes Vergo lose his footing, it works out well for me," Law told the trio of Marines. "However, you need to forget everything that you heard about me and Joker. This isn't a favor; it's a condition,"

"We agree to those conditions," Aura said.

"What's going on out there?" Luffy asked, tearing a hole in the cage. He then jumped out, glad to be free.

"How dare he do whatever he pleases," Law growled.

"Law, if you're going to ally with Mugiwara there's one thing you should know," Crocodile said, standing up with Daz supporting him. "Do not bother creating a plan. It's Mugiwara, the same kid that had the guts to punch a Celestial Dragon,"

XXX

The shutter opened, allowing the G-5 Marines to enter. After all the Marines were inside, the shutter closed. Standing near the lever were Smoker, Tashigi, Aura, Law, Daz, Crocodile, Robin, and Luffy. "Smokey! Captain-chan! Aura-chan! You're alive!" Not long after the shutter completely closed, Zoro and his group crashed through, breaking the iron door. "THEY CUT THE SHUTTER!"

"Law, can you reattach the shutter?" Crocodile calmly asked.

"Room," Law recited. "Shambles," The iron triangle was put back into place, easing the G-5 soldiers' worries about the poisonous gas getting in.

XXX

Caesar laughed as the gas spread throughout the island. "It is done! There's no way anyone could be alive on Punk Hazard now!"

"Vergo," Eric asked. "Could I please see Law's heart?" Vergo held it out to him. It was still beating. "Law's alive. The others must be too,"

"How could they have escaped~?" Caesar exclaimed.

"I know at least Crocodile's chains weren't seastone," Eric revealed. "When I was beating him up, my hands grazed them but I wasn't weakened,"

Caesar frowned. "Why didn't you tell us sooner!?"

"Where would the fun in that be?" Eric grinned. "Now I can actually kill Crocodile and Aura myself!"

XXX

The Marines aimed their guns at the pirates. "Prepare to die, Straw Hat Pirates! You too, Brownbeard the Pirate!"

"I thought we were out of trouble but now we're immediately surrounded!?" Usopp said. "There's no place to run!"

"Who needs to run?" Zoro asked.

"Is that a dragon?" Crocodile's eyes turned to hearts. "Let's keep it as a pet!"

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed.

"We are not keeping the dragon!" Nami declared. She then turned to Law. "Torao! Switch me and Sanji back to our original bodies!"

"Room," Law sighed. "Shambles," The two were back in their bodies. "I have something to say to everybody here! Right now, the lab is completely engulfed in poison gas, but there is an escape route to the sea that isn't exposed to the outside air," He then began to explain the layout of the lab. "I don't have any desire to be a mass murderer but you only have two hours,"

"I'm fine with being a mass murderer," Crocodile commented. "It's the pirate life. If they die, I'll take the credit,"

"You going to do something to the lab?" Luffy asked.

"I'll only do what is necessary," Law replied as he walked away.

"G-5!" Smoker called. "The kids that have been abducted over the last two years are in this facility. Retrieve them and head for door R-66! If it's as Law says, there should be a port at the end of the passage. Steal a boat and get off of Punk Hazard!"

"The children?" Nami asked. "Everyone! We gotta split up and look for the children! Let's lead them all to the escape route!"

XXX

One of the hazmat suit guys confirmed that the Straw Hat Pirates, Law, Smoker, Tashigi, and Aura were indeed inside of the lab and had escaped the cage. "Whatever else happens, I can't let Law escape," Vergo said. "Depending on what he's planning, I may have to kill him here myself,"

"Who shall I go after first, Crocodile or Aura?" Eric's grin widened.

"Are you trying to imitate Young Master?" Monet asked.

"No!" Eric huffed. "I'll just…go and find them now!" He ran out the room.

Vergo also began to leave. "You aren't the only one who would be in trouble if Smoker or Law makes it out alive, Caesar. I can't just leave it to you," He began to try to grasp something in the air. "I'll cut them to pieces. Where is my sword?"

"You're not a swordsman," Monet reminded.

"That's right. I'm not a swordsman," Vergo recalled. "Well then, I'll just go and smash those brats. The crocodile can eat them if she's hungry,"

 _"Like I'll eat Crocodile or his nakama!"_ Fang refused in her reptile language.

XXX

G-5 soldiers were rushing through the gate. "Croc, Daz, you both go on ahead," Aura said. "Tashigi and I need to get all our men through,"

"Aura, hurry up!" Crocodile called. "The gate's almost completely closed!"

Not long after Aura went back through the gate, an explosion was heard. "There's a hole now! The gas is coming in!"

"Aura!" Crocodile shouted.

"Tashigi get inside!" Aura ordered. "I'll make sure the others get in too!" Her eyes widened as she witnessed some of the soldiers get petrified from the purple gas. "Go now guys!"

A couple more G-5 soldiers made it through the gate. "Hey, where are Aura-chan and Tashigi-chan!"

"They're still on the other side," Crocodile told them. He tried to walk towards the gate but Daz stopped him. "Daz, let me go!"

"Boss, in your condition, you'll not be able to make it back in time," Daz told him.

The G-5 soldiers looked to each other and nodded before running back out. They all picked up the two female Marines and threw them through the gate, the Marines on the other side catching them. "Guys!" Tashigi called. The Marines held her back. "Let me go!"

"Tashigi…you already saw how close the gas was…" Aura said. "They've already turned to stone,"

"Guess I owe your subordinates one," Crocodile said. "If it weren't for them, you'd be stone too, Aura,"

"Guys…" Tashigi whispered, tears falling.

Aura wanted to comfort her subordinate but didn't know what to say. Crocodile walked over to Tashigi. "Stop crying and get going,"

"How can you be so heartless towards Tashigi-chan!?" G-5 growled.

"Death is a part of life," Crocodile told them. "If you aren't prepared to witness death, then you aren't fit to be a Marine! You can't save everyone, even if you try your hardest! Now get moving. Don't let their deaths be in vain. And don't you have kids to save?"

"R-Right!" Tashigi said. "Let's go!"

"Hey…" A few of the soldiers asked. "What's that sound?"

"It's the dragon!" Crocodile pointed to the sky, the dragon exhaling a blast of flames. They all jumped to the side to avoid getting hit. "At least all this blood is dry," He scraped the dried blood away. The dragon soon became scared and flew away.

Marines were cheering, surrounding a person. "Captain Tashigi! Vice-Admiral Aura! We got reinforcements!" They told the two. "A third Vice-Admiral will make victory certain!"

"Third…Vice-Admiral?" Tashigi questioned, her eyes widening at the sight of Vergo.

"Run!" Aura shouted. "Vergo's the enemy!"

"Aura-chan, what do you mean?" G-5 asked. "He's the strongest person in G-5,"

"He's working with Caesar!" Aura revealed. "Get away from him!"

She was too late. Vergo used Shigan against a couple of the soldiers with quick speed. Tashigi couldn't believe that Vergo was the traitor. She thought back to the day she and Smoker first joined G-5.

 _"Welcome," Vergo greeted, standing up from his seat. "I've heard a lot of rumor about you, Vice-Admiral Smoker. I look forward to working with you,"_

 _"Isn't there another Vice-Admiral here?" Smoker asked._

 _"Aura won't be here for the rest of the week," Vergo informed. "She's been greatly affected by the casualties of the Paramount War. Anyways, the men of G-5 are rough around the edges and aren't all that bright but once you get to know them, you'll see that they're better than their reputation. Before long, I'm sure you'll come to see them as your cute subordinates,"_

"Stop!" Aura charged in, pushing a subordinate aside to get them out of the attack's way.

Before the Shigan could hit her, Vergo stopped. "Aura, step aside,"

 _'He stopped?'_ Aura thought. "Vergo, stop this! As a Marine Vice-Admiral, I am putting you under arrest!"

"Get away from Vice-Admiral Aura!" Tashigi shouted, swinging her blade.

Vergo blocked with his Armament-covered arm. "Aura—"

 _"Fang Fatal Chomp!"_

Vergo's face contorted into one filled with pain. No one had ever thought that expression on Vergo's face was possible. The traitor fell to the ground, clutching between his legs. Fang came crawling out from under his coat, grinning ferociously.

"Fang!" Crocodile called the baby Bananawani over.

 _"He put me in his pocket so I bit him where it hurts!"_ Fang told him. _"Also, look what I got,"_ She opened her jaws to reveal Law's heart.

"Good girl!" Crocodile took the heart and petted Fang.

* * *

 **Anyone can guess why Vergo didn't attack Aura? They've known each other for years and Vergo does have emotions, he just doesn't express himself well. *Wink* That's a big hint and it's pretty obvious what I'm trying to imply.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

"Aura-chan," One of the members of G-5 asked as the group began to run while Vergo was recovering. "Was that really Vice-Admiral Vergo?"

"Yeah," Aura nodded. "But I don't understand why he stopped his attack when I stepped in,"

"Huh?" The G-5 soldiers looked to her. "Aura-chan, we have a bit of a theory on why,"

"They've been shipping you and Vergo for a while now," Tashigi said.

"EH!?"

"Daz, we're going back!" Crocodile growled. "I'm gonna kill that bastard!"

XXX

Vergo managed to recover and escape the poison gas, using Geppo to get to his destination faster.

 **Fourteen years ago…**

 _Twenty nine year old Aura was getting a new person transferred to G-5. "What's your name?"_

 _Vergo put his two heels together and saluted. "My name's Vergo, mam!"_

 _"Hey newbie, I got a question for you," Aura asked. "What's with the food stuck to your cheek? You woke up in the fridge or something?"_

 _Vergo peeled the food from his face, revealing part of a sandwich. "I'm a messy eater," He then proceeded to finish the sandwich._

 _"Most of the time we go on missions, we're always in groups or partners," Aura informed. "You'll be partnered with me, kay?"_

 _"Yes mam," Vergo nodded._

 **Thirteen years ago…**

 _A year passed. During that year, Vergo had gotten to know more about Aura. He learned her favorite foods, color, and music. He also learned her dislikes. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed Aura's company. Vergo just told himself that he found her intriguing._

 _One day, they received word that they were going on a mission to Minion Island for a deal with the Op-Op Fruit. "Accompanying us will be one of my best friends," Aura told G-5._

 _"Yo," Alligator greeted. "My name's Alligator,"_

 _"Why is he joining us?" He meant for his tone to stay flat and emotionless, but there was a twinge of annoyance (or was it jealousy) in his voice directed towards Alligator. It was enough of a change for the others to notice, except for Aura and Alligator._

 _"The Devil Fruit is worth five billion berries," Aura pointed out. "He's a commander. Besides, I have a feeling that the Donquixote Pirates might be there too. I know Tsuru-san will meet us there at some point,"_

'How does she know that Doffy and the others might be there?' _Vergo thought._ 'It's as if she knows they'll get the information,'

 _XXX_

 _Vergo had just finished his phone call with Doflamingo and quickly blended in with his group. They eventually found Corazon lying in the snow, covered in blood. "No…" Alligator whispered as he fell to his knees._

 _"Alligator, it'll be alright," Vergo felt a bit of anger well up inside of him when Aura tried to comfort Alligator._ 'No, I'm not angry at Aura comforting Alligator,' _Vergo thought._ 'I'm angry that she's comforting him over _that traitor's_ death,'

 _Alligator screamed. "ROCI! IF ONLY I HAD GOTTEN HERE SOONER! IF ONLY I HAD DISSUADED YOU FROM INFILTRATING_ HIS _CREW!"_

 _A few minutes later, Tsuru and her team arrived. She knelt down beside Alligator. "It's going to be alright, Alligator,"_

 _Alligator sobbed in her arms. "I'm his older brother…I should've been there to protect him…"_

'Older brother?' _Vergo mentally questioned._ 'Rocinante's older brother is Doffy, whom he betrayed. What is he talking about?'

 _XXX_

 _Aura and Alligator were in a depressing mood the whole trip back. Aura wouldn't eat most of the time. The G-5 Marines tried to coax her into eating just a little, but she refused. Finally, they went to Vergo. "Captain Vergo, Aura-chan won't eat anything,"_

 _Vergo took the bowl of soup and went to Aura's quarters. Aura was curled up in bed. "Aura, you need to eat,"_

 _"I'm not hungry," Aura mumbled._

 _"Aura," Vergo repeated, walking to the side of her bed._

 _"I promised their older brother that I'd protect Al and Roci," Aura told him. "But now…Roci is dead…"_

 _Vergo had to prevent himself from showing anger. He didn't want that traitor to be sympathized, especially from Aura. "It's not your fault,"_

XXX

Before Vergo could reach Law, he encountered Smoker and the two began to fight. Vergo was stronger and had the upper hand. Meanwhile, Eric approached Law in the SAD Room. "Huh?" Eric asked. "Where's Croc?"

"I'm afraid he's not here with me, Eric-ya," Law answered.

"Shame," Eric exhaled. "Guess I'll have to fight you instead. Maybe harming his nephew will draw him out,"

XXX

Crocodile noticed Law's heart beating rapidly. _'It can't be Vergo since he wouldn't get there this quickly. Maybe it's that bird woman? No, I can feel her Haki elsewhere and Caesar's is in a different building. That means he's fighting Eric!'_

"What's wrong, Boss?" Daz asked.

"Daz, protect Aura," Crocodile ordered. "I'm gonna go on ahead and help Law. His heart has taken enough damage already from Vergo,"

Aura imbued her fist with Haki and punched Crocodile. "Idiot!"

Crocodile put a hand to his cheek. "Aura, what the hell was that for!?"

"What about the state _you're_ in!?" Aura snapped. "Both Smoker and Law need help against Vergo and Eric. I know Vergo's Haki is stronger than Smoker's. You can't handle both at the same time!"

"Aura…" Crocodile whispered.

"You think I want you to die!?" Aura yelled, tears welling up. "You're the only one left, Croc…Roci and Al are gone…I don't want to be alone…" She furiously wiped the tears away. "Tashigi, you're in charge,"

Crocodile sighed. "Daz, you and Fang go with G-5. Make sure them and the kids escape,"

"Yes Boss," Daz nodded.

"Tashigi-swan! Aura-swan!" Sanji called, joining the group. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Black Leg, I need you to come with me," Aura said. "I'll need your help,"

"Anything for you, Aura-swan!"

Crocodile meanwhile glared at Sanji.

* * *

 **The next chapter will involve Eric VS Law & Smoker and Vergo VS Crocodile and Sanji.  
Yes, I attempted to ship Vergo with an OC, but it'll most likely be one-sided.  
Should it be Croc X Aura romantically or more like a brother-sister bond?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

Law gasped heavily for air as the Ash-Ash Fruit user tossed him around like a ragdoll. He was still recovering from his previous wounds against Vergo. Eric laughed as he heated the ash around Law's neck, causing Law to scream. "GAH!"

"Continue screaming, Trafalgar Law," Eric laughed. "I want Crocodile to hear your screams so that he'll fight me and I can kill him once and for all!"

"Room!" Law managed to say. "Countershock!" He placed his two thumbs on Eric's chest, shocking him with electricity.

Eric dropped Law and stumbled back a bit. "You're gonna regret that!"

XXX

Aura stopped. "What's wrong?" Sanji asked.

"Vergo's fighting someone…" Aura whispered. "It's Smoker and he's losing!"

Crocodile sucked in his breath and sighed. "We'll go and save Smoker but then Smoker has to go help Law against Eric,"

Aura nodded. "Let's go!"

XXX

"Vergo!" Aura shouted. "Let Smoker go!"

"Aura?" Vergo tossed Smoker aside.

"You don't have to fight us!" Aura said. "Please just stop, Vergo!"

Vergo shook his head. "My loyalty is to the family, not to the Marines,"

"Diable Jambe!" Sanji's foot caught fire and he charged towards Vergo. "Joue Shoot!" He kicked at Vergo's cheek.

Vergo was faster and dodged, kneeing Sanji with an armament-covered knee. He then grabbed the collar of Sanji's shirt, punching him in the face before tossing him against the wall like he did with Smoker. Aura charged towards him with an Armament Haki-imbued sword. Vergo covered his arm with Haki and blocked it.

"Sandstorm Burden!" Crocodile attempted to throw a mass of dense sand at Vergo.

Vergo used his bamboo stick and spun it to block. "Do you honestly think that you can win against me?"

Aura helped Smoker up. "Smoker, these two will be fine. We need to help Law; he's fighting Eric by himself!"

"As much as I hate helping a pirate, I do owe him," Smoker mumbled.

XXX

"Eric!" Aura shouted with her armament sword ready to swing. "Let Law go!"

Eric turned to her. "Eh? Where's Croc?" He then frowned. "Don't tell me he's fighting Vergo! He's supposed to be my opponent damn it!" He sighed. "Guess I'll have to kill you three first," His arm turned into a blade of ashes.

"Law!" Aura held up the said man's heart.

"Room!" Law recited.

"I don't think so!" Eric threw ashes at both Aura and Law. Some ashes landed on Law's heart and Eric smirked, heating the ash up.

"GAH!" Law screamed in pain. "Room!" Aura quickly dusted the ash off. "Shambles!" He got his heart back and put it back into his chest.

XXX

Vergo had been defeated, finally knocked unconscious due to the combined efforts of Sanji and Crocodile. Vergo had been so pissed off that he imbued his whole body with Haki. It was tough, but the two managed to defeat him. Sanji and Crocodile joined the others. Law, Smoker, and Aura were the last ones to join, dragging a tram with them.

"Mugiwara-ya," Law called.

"Torao! Smokey!" Luffy greeted. "There you are!"

"It's Trafalgar Law!" G-5 exclaimed. They then noticed Smoker and Aura. "Hey, it's Smokey and Aura-chan! Thank goodness you're okay!"

Crocodile noticed the hole. "Mugiwara, who did you send flying?"

"I sent Caesar flying down that way, along with the door," Luffy answered with a smile.

"You promised that you'd kidnap him!" Law growled.

"But I don't want to catch that guy anymore," Luffy frowned.

"Even if you don't want to, that was the plan," Law pointed out.

"I already warned you that you shouldn't bother with creating a plan," Crocodile reminded.

All of the Marines were rushing into the tram. "Hey, what are you doing, Mugiwara-ya's crew!?" Law exclaimed when he noticed they weren't getting on. "Get on, all of you!"

"Crocodile what are you doing!?" Aura exclaimed.

"The rest of the crew isn't here yet," Crocodile pointed out.

"And all of our subordinates aren't accounted for either," Tashigi added.

They all stared at the approaching gas and the metal doors closing. "LUFFY!" Chopper shouted.

"There they are!" Luffy grinned.

The group all made it through, the door closing completely right after Brook got passed it. "We made it!" Chopper cheered.

"Alright, everyone's here!" Luffy said. "Anyway, this place is gonna blow! Everyone get on!"

XXX

"Croc put a shirt on!" Aura said, throwing her cloak at him. "It's _snowing_ out there!"

"Not my fault I was kidnapped when we were on the blazing hot side of the island," Crocodile defended. "It was so hot I might've turned into glass!"

"You're acting very different from the last time we saw you, Crocodile," Tashigi commented.

"Blame Mugiwara!" Crocodile accusingly pointed to his captain. "He's a terrible influence!"

"At least you're not wanting to take over Alabasta anymore," Aura said. "That's an improvement,"

Without her cloak on, Aura's cleavage was more visible from the top of her shirt. G-5 soldiers were drooling at the sight. "Aura-chan's so pretty,"

Crocodile glared at the soldiers. "If you keep on staring her like that I will gouge your eyes out with my hook!"

"Crocodile, you have two hands now," Aura reminded.

"The hook is on the ship," Crocodile informed. "It's pure gold except for the poisonous part and costed me a lot of beri,"

"Pure gold you say?" Nami had overheard their conversation.

XXX

The tram soared in the air for a few seconds before falling. The gas had been blown away by Nami so they weren't petrified. "There you guys are!" Franky said from within his General Franky suit. "I've gotten tired of waiting!"

"Look at that!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed. "It's the General!"

"It's a robot!" The boy and G-5 soldiers all stared in amazement. "It's the ultimate! How cool! It's a man's dream!"

"I prefer dead bodies and skeletons as decor," Crocodile said.

"I'm not décor!" Brook growled.

"Never meant you, Brook," Crocodile told him. "I meant the skeletons of the people I killed,"

Law recognized the two extra figures. "Buffalo? And you're Baby 5!"

"Law!?" Baby 5 exclaimed. "Are you really going against Joker?"

"You traitor!" Buffalo accused. "Joker was saving the Seat of Hearts for you!"

"Who're they?" Luffy asked. "Are they your friends?"

"No, they're the enemy," Law answered.

Baby 5 and Buffalo snatched Caesar before starting to fly away. "The entire Straw Hat Crew and the Navy's G-5 unit! We can't defeat them all,"

"What's going on, Baby 5?" Caesar managed to say.

"In any case, we need to take Caesar to the young master," Baby 5 told Buffalo.

"They just took Caesar and ran away!" Usopp said. "Alright, leave it to me! Flying enemies are the sniper's job,"

"Damn those guys," Law was about to create a Room when Luffy stopped him.

"Oi, Usopp said to leave it to him," Luffy assured.

"Don't underestimate our sniper just because his nose is long," Zoro said.

"There's no need to mention my long nose!" Usopp snapped.

"Don't be an idiot!" Law refused. "If they somehow got away, the plan would—"

"You made an alliance with us, right?" Nami asked. "Weren't you watching just now? I wish you'd put a bit more faith in us,"

"What alliance?" Zoro asked.

"Apparently we're now in an alliance with Trafalgar Law," Daz said.

"All I've been doing is running," Nami said. "I want to start attacking. I'm not afraid of an enemy that's far away and has lost the will to fight,"

"Furthermore, if the enemy's injured and has their back turned, I can handle him!" Usopp added.

"Just hurry up and get it done," Zoro hurried them.

"Can't you just fly up and snatch Caesar back?" Aura asked Crocodile.

"I could but Luffy wants them to do it," Crocodile shrugged. "It'd be much quicker if I got him back but he's the captain,"

Nami threw a weather egg at the three, the egg hatching above the enemies. Lightning struck them, causing them to start falling. Usopp fired a Chomping Grass towards them, hitting Buffalo. The rubble just flew through Caesar but the seastone handcuffs tied around him.

XXX

Chopper suddenly came running from the SAD tanker, crying. "Luffy, stop him!"

"Huh? Stop who?" Luffy asked.

"H-H-He's a murderer!" Chopper shouted.

"What? Murderer?" Brook accidentally knocked Kin'emon's petrified body down, much to his horror. "AH! I'm a murderer too!"

"Who's a murderer?" Luffy questioned.

"It's Law!" Chopper yelled.

"Chopper, I doubt that Law would murder the children," Crocodile said.

"I saw him!" Chopper argued before walking towards the room they were in. "Law! Get out here, Law! Just what were you doing to the children!? If anything has happened to them then I…"

"That's why I told you not to look," Law responded. "I was just slicing up their bodies. They've been fed narcotics. Their recovery will be long and hard, there's no way around that,"

"AH!" Chopper screamed, rushing into the room.

"You put them back together though, right?" Crocodile asked.

"Of course," Law replied.

A couple minutes later, Sanji had finished cooking. "Newkama Kenpo Secret Technique, 99th Vital Recipe! Let's revive your cold and tired bodies! Hormone Soup with Sea Pig!" After a conversation between Sanji, Momonosuke, and Kin'emon, everyone gathered around the pot for some food, including the G-5 soldiers. "What happened to the line between good and evil, you jerks!?"

"It's a truce, bro," The soldiers said.

Aura chuckled at their behavior. "The food smells too good for them to resist,"

"Okay then, why don't you guys go get some booze from the tanker?" Zoro suggested, pointing at the wrong direction.

"With pleasure," G-5 agreed.

"And juice!" The kids added.

"Guys!" Luffy got everyone's attention towards him. "New enemies are on their way. So hurry up…and party!"

Law stared in shock at Luffy, jaw dropped. Crocodile patted Law's back. "Daz and I were like you two years ago. Don't worry, you'll get used to it,"

Everyone enjoyed the food Sanji cooked and the music Brook played. Fang was curled up in Aura's lap. "She likes you," Crocodile smirked, sitting beside her with two bowls of soup, handing one to his friend.

"Vice-Admiral Smokey!" The Navy soldiers approached Smoker, who sat not too far from Aura and Crocodile. "We're gonna go back inside,"

"What's wrong?" Smoker asked.

"We made Caesar spill the weakness of the poison gas," They explained. "Our nakama are still alive and we can still save them!"

"Why are you still alive, Smoker?" Caesar, who had two clamps on his cheeks, asked.

"Let's go you guys!" The soldiers then left.

"They respect you yet they call you Smokey instead of Smoker," Crocodile said.

"Hmph, as if you'd know anything about subordinates respecting you," Smoker commented. "They all feared you I bet,"

"Daz still follows me," Crocodile claimed.

"One follower out of how many?" Smoker rebutted.

"Shut up,"

Smoker then turned to Law who was sitting on a crate on the pirate side of the line. "Law, there's no way that you believed that I'd keep a promise to a pirate like you. If you really wanted to silence me, then you had plenty of chances to kill me. What are you planning on using Mugiwara to do?"

Law smirked. "Use? Who's the one that's being used?" He finished up his soup. "There's no real reason why I let you live, White Hunter," He stood up. "By the way, I plan on heading to Green Bit. I wonder if the Straw Hat Crew is too much for me to handle,"

"It is," Crocodile interrupted. "Trust me, if you spend too much time with them Mugiwara Syndrome starts to infect you,"

"Mugiwara Syndrome?" Aura questioned.

"When you start to act out of character and integrate with the crew," Crocodile informed.

Law said nothing and just walked over to where Buffalo, Baby 5, and Caesar were.

"Hey Soul King," Aura called.

"What is it Aura-san?" Brook walked over to them.

"Let Crocodile sing a song," Aura smirked.

Crocodile choked on his soup. "Aura I don't sing!"

"Yes you do," Aura said. "You're able to change the pitch of your voice pretty well too. You used to get Rocinante to create a sound barrier so no one but you, him, and Al could hear inside the room, but you never noticed when I snuck in. Seriously, your Observation Haki sucked at that time,"

"You have no proof," Crocodile defended.

"I printed several copies of the lyrics for a song you sang that I liked most," Aura handed a bunch of papers out to the Straw Hats and the Marines. "But I don't suggest letting Garp-san hear it since it's about finding the One Piece. Sometimes I wonder where you find these songs,"

"Come on Croco-bro, sing!" Franky urged.

Crocodile refused. "If you were fully human, I would absorb all the moisture in your body and turn you into a mummy,"

"Then let's all sing along!" Luffy suggested. "Come aboard and bring along all your hopes and dreams!"

"Together, we will find everything that we're looking for…" The rest of the Straw Hats joined in. "One Piece!"

"Come on Crocodile!" Chopper urged.

 _"Yeah Croc!"_ Fang agreed.

Crocodile sighed and reluctantly joined in. "Compass left behind. It'll only slow us down. Your heart will be your guide. Raise the sails and take the helm,"

"Sand-niichan is a great singer!" The kids said to each other.

"Everyone!" Luffy shouted. "Sing along!"

Looking to each other, the G-5 Marines didn't know what to do. Aura nodded towards them and they too began to sing. Even Smoker and Law started to hum to the tune but they refused to sing.

XXX

The tanker was finally fixed. "I thought you guys were going to use it," Smoker said to Luffy.

"Nah," Luffy said with a grin. "Nami, Chopper, and Crocodile said that they refuse to set sail until they've made sure the kids are off safely,"

"Crocodile?" Smoker questioned.

"Croc's a real great guy now," Luffy assured. "He's not a jerk like he was back in Alabasta. I can't be bothered to wait for another Navy ship to come here anyway, so use that to take the kids,"

"Get on the ship, kids!" G-5 called. "We're taking you home!"

The kids happily ran to the SAD tanker. "Now, there's no need to rush," Tashigi said. "One at a time,"

"Take care!" Brook waved.

"Hey, hey, Straw Hats!" A soldier painted a new line. "Don't even think of crossing it! This is the line between good and evil,"

"Understand?" Another soldier piped up. "Don't come any closer!"

"I'm still on this side of the line," Crocodile reminded.

"Then get on the evil side!" One soldier went up to Crocodile.

Crocodile glared down at him. "Who are you to order me around?"

"N-Nevermind…" The soldier backed away.

"Again?" Luffy questioned. "Weren't we just partying together?"

"Don't be an idiot!" The G-5 soldier said. "In regards to that, we are really grateful for the food. But you guys are pirates, a shame on all humanity!"

The sound of a loud horn was heard. "It looks like they're about to set off," Sanji noted.

G-5 all held up a bunch of white sheets with the Navy symbol painted on it. "What's this all about?" Aura asked, confused.

"Big sis Nami?" The kids called. "Chopper-chan? Where's the robot? Huh? Where'd all the pirate guys go?"

"Get out of the way, you guys," Sanji said to the soldiers. "You're being annoying,"

"Aura, what the hell is wrong with your men?" Crocodile asked.

"I'm not sure," Aura frowned.

"It's a barrier!" The soldiers explained. "Don't look at the pirates!"

"You guys are pretty much pirates yourselves, G-5," Franky said.

"But it looks like they're all safely on board," Nami sighed in relief.

"Hey!" The kids continued shouting. "Big Bro! Sand-niichan! Lady!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The soldiers yelled at the kids.

"Oi," Crocodile warned the soldiers.

"We are justice!" The soldiers declared. "We kill all pirates who endanger civilians! Pirates are the scum of the world! We are justice! Don't let the kids lay eyes on them!"

"Lady!" The kids moved to try to see the Straw Hats. "Robo! Sand-niichan!"

But the soldiers continued to block the view of the pirates. "No! No! You're not allowed to look! Don't let them see!"

"Get out of the way!" The kids demanded. "We can't see!"

"Don't look at them, you brats!" The soldiers ordered.

"From their yelling it sounds like they're doing well," Chopper deduced.

"They said that Vegapunk is gonna help them with the candy problems," Nami informed.

"Don't look at the trashy pirates!" The soldiers commanded. "Your eyes will rot! We won't let that happen! We are justice! We are justice!"

"Swirly guy!" The kids called. "You're in the way, Navy! Please move!"

A soldier fired a shot above the kids. "Any of you who want to say goodbye to a pirate is a bad kid! Anyone who says thanks will be thrown off the boat and left on the island!"

"Now that's too far!" Crocodile snapped, grabbing the Marine and throwing him to the ground. "What kind of justice are you bastards supposed to be if you are threatening kids!?"

"You guys are pirates!" They shouted. "We are justice!"

"Justice?" Crocodile scoffed. " _Justice_ protects people and yet here you are, threatening children!"

"The Navy is good and pirates are bad!" They continued.

Crocodile turned his hand to sand. "I'll slaughter every single one of you,"

"Crocodile wait," Aura said. "Soldiers, I demand an explanation!"

"Aura-chan, if we don't keep insulting them…" Tears were in the soldiers' eyes. They dropped the barrier and fell to their knees. "We'll end up…actually liking these outlaws! E-Even though they're pirates!"

Smoker face palmed at his subordinates' behavior. Crocodile returned his hands to normal. "I don't care whether you guys hate on me or not,"

"What weird Marines!" Luffy laughed.

XXX

The SAD tanker started to sail away. "Hey everyone!" The kids waved. "Thanks for saving us! When we grow up we're definitely…gonna become pirates!"

"No you won't!" The soldiers screamed.

"Don't become pirates!" Crocodile shouted. Everyone stared at him, shocked that he would say that. "Be someone who would protect their friends and fight for their freedom!"

The kids nodded in understanding. "We will, Sand-niichan!"

"Well then, let's get going," Luffy said, heading to the Thousand Sunny.

"Guess this is goodbye, Aura," Crocodile placed a hand on Aura's head. "Still taller than you,"

Aura responded by kicking Crocodile in the stomach with Haki. Crocodile fell to the ground. "I'll miss you too, Croc,"

"I wish that we didn't have to say goodbye, Aura-swan!" Sanji swooned, dragging Crocodile with him to the Thousand Sunny.

"Hey," Zoro asked as they all were boarding the Sunny. "Is that guy coming with us?" He pointed to Law.

"Oh yeah, we haven't told you about the alliance," Usopp recalled. "Luffy is making trouble again,"

* * *

 **I attempted to write fighting scenes but it was too confusing with all the attack names. It was very messy so I decided the story would be better if I removed wha tI wrote about it.**

 **Croc's bounty poster picture still hasn't been updated so people usually won't recognize him unless they see his Devil Fruit.**

 **Kudos to people who know the song they sang.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

Crocodile noticed that Law was on the Den-Den Mushi. "Now this is a surprise. I didn't think that the boss would come out himself,"

 _"Is that you, Law? Long time no see. Couldn't you have stayed so we could meet in person?"_

"Doflamingo!?" Crocodile exclaimed.

 _"Croco-man is there too?"_

"No!" Crocodile denied.

"If you're searching for Caesar, then he's with me," Law said.

Caesar shouted into the Den-Den Mushi, "J-Joker, please save me!"

 _"Where are Baby 5 and Buffalo's bodies?"_

"Who knows," Law responded. "Maybe Croc-ya shriveled them up into mummies. But that isn't what we're talking about. Let's make a deal,"

 _"Fufufu. Hey Law, don't try to be so tough. A brat shouldn't try to act like an adult,"_

"Flamingo bastard," Crocodile mumbled as he lit his cigar.

 _"Hey Croco-man we should hang out together again, just like before,"_

"When we reach Dressrosa I am going to kill you," Crocodile threatened.

"Back to the topic," Law interrupted. "Doflamingo, you're most valuable trading partner is Kaido, an Emperor. What do you think would happen if he found out you couldn't make Smiles anymore? He isn't a man you can negotiate with. There would be a brutal battle. You would be killed,"

 _"You're taking this joke too far, Law. What do I have to do for you to give back Caesar? What are your demands?"_

"Die," Crocodile said.

"Give up your position as a Royal Shichibukai," Law answered, ignoring Crocodile. "Throw away everything you've gained these past ten years and return to being a normal pirate. Of course, if you do that then the Admirals from Navy HQ will hunt you down. You have until tomorrow's morning news. If I see that you've retired from the Shichibukai then I will contact you again. If there is nothing, then all negotiations are off. Later,"

XXX

The former workers for Caesar were giving the hazmat suits to the G-5 Marines that had stayed back. G-5 quickly put them on and started to work on getting the rest of the soldiers out. "Thank you for giving us permission to enter the island," Brownbeard was crying a bit as he spoke to Smoker and Aura. "I'll never forget you guys. Now I can save my nakama. We'll definitely come back and turn ourselves in,"

"This is the only exit," Smoker pointed out.

"And if you guys try to escape, I can beat the crap out of you," Aura grinned, though it felt as if she was emitting an intimidating aura. "So don't try to escape, okay?"

"Y-Yes mam!" Brownbeard stuttered.

"Hurry up and get going!" Smoker snapped.

Brownbeard nodded and started heading into the tunnel that they had exited from. "But what are we supposed to do with these prisoners?" A soldier asked, everyone crowded around Baby 5 and Buffalo's headless bodies. "Are these two pirates?"

"Dunno, they creep me out," Another said.

"Hey, something's flying toward us," A third soldier noted.

Baby 5 and Buffalo's head reconnected to their bodies. Doflamingo landed on Punk Hazard. Smoker's eyes narrowed. "That's…"

"Doflamingo!" Aura shouted, drawing her sword and imbuing it with Haki as she charged towards him.

Doflamingo calmly stood up and spread his arms out, unleashing a wavy of Conqueror's Haki. Many of the soldiers fell to the ground, unconscious. He noticed that Aura was still awake and chuckled, using his strings to stop her. "So you're the woman Vergo told me about,"

"Damn it…" Aura struggled against the strings.

"Where are Straw Hat and Law?" Doflamingo demanded.

"Why is a Shichibukai attacking the Navy?" The soldiers that were still conscious exclaimed. "How dare you attack our comrades!?"

"Stop it you guys!" Smoker warned.

"He'll control you with his Parasite strings!" Aura shouted.

But it was too late, Doflamingo had them all under his control already. He laughed as he had them all shoot each other. As Doflamingo was about to finish one of them off for not answering his question, Smoker's fist flew at him. "Don't lay another finger on my subordinates!"

Aura, who was now free from the Parasite strings, charged once more and swung her sword. Doflamingo merely blocked with his arm, not even having to use armament. He then kicked Aura in the guts, sending her flying near the water. He turned to Smoker. "Smoker, tell me where those brats are!"

"Who knows? I sure don't," Smoker lied. "Joker! They must have slipped through our fingers. How will we explain this to our Base Commander, Vergo?"

"Wait, I'm the Base Commander," Aura spoke up.

"Actually Aura-san, Vergo was given that position while you were going through that depression phase when your friend died," Tashigi informed.

"Vergo's dead, isn't he?" Doflamingo said. "It sounds like you know too much. Smoker!" He charged at the Logia user.

"I'm still weak…" Aura mumbled, getting up as the fight began.

The two were jumping all around the place, even above the ground. Aura wouldn't be able to catch up to them and cursed. One of her wounds from earlier had reopened, blood seeping through her shirt. A soldier rushed to her side to apply first aid. "Aura-chan, let Smoker-san handle this fight,"

"I want revenge," Aura said. "He killed Rocinante!"

"Oh?" Doflamingo stopped in front of Aura. "You knew my little brother?"

"You don't have the right to call him your brother!" Aura attempted to punch him but Doflamingo easily dodged, causing Aura to crash to the ground.

"Last time I checked, he and I shared the same parents," Doflamingo grabbed Aura by the neck.

"Let her go!" Smoker shouted, sending his fist flying towards him.

Doflamingo simply took a step back to dodge. "Why aren't you using your seastone jutte!?" G-5 exclaimed. "You can easily negate his abilities with it!"

But Smoker's jutte had been destroyed against Eric. The bastard had snapped it in half. "Just die already!" Doflamingo prepared to launch another attack.

"Smokey! Aura-chan!" G-5 charged towards the pink bastard. "We'll fight too!"

"Don't!" Aura yelled. "He's too strong for you guys! You'll be killed!"

"So you guys want to die first?" Doflamingo directed his attack towards the small crowd of Navy soldiers.

"Stay back!" Smoker blocked his subordinates with his own body, taking the hit instead.

"Smokey!"

XXX

"We're heading to Dressrosa?" Luffy questioned.

"Yeah, there's something we have to do there," Law answered.

"D-Dressrosa!?" Kin'emon exclaimed.

"What is it?" Luffy asked. "Do you know the place?"

"T-That is the island that we, no _I,_ am headed to," Kin'emon explained. "Is that where you are headed?"

"Yeah, probably," Luffy replied.

"You don't get it, do you?" Law said.

"He was stupid enough to punch a Celestial Dragon," Crocodile reminded. "What do you think?"

Nami noticed the ship swaying and looked over the railing to the sea. "The currents are changing? What is this!?"

The ship started to slope diagonally downwards. "A hill!?"

"Yahoo!" Luffy climbed onto the lion's head. "So fast! The ship is going so fast!"

"Keep an eye out for reefs!" Nami ordered.

"What's going on with the sea?" Usopp asked.

"It's a sea slope," Crocodile told them. "They're quite common. There are steeper ones than this so the one we're sailing on isn't too bad. Don't bother fighting the current as long as the center needle stays pointed towards our destination,"

"You really are a know-it-all," Zoro mocked.

"What? Did you think that I just stayed in the Alabasta?" Crocodile responded. "I've been to the New World before, back when I was a rookie,"

"What happened?" Daz asked, curious as to what his boss used to do in the New World.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Crocodile mumbled.

"Does it have something to do with the Kamabakka Kingdom?" Sanji asked. "You seem to have recognized the place when I mentioned it earlier,"

Crocodile glared at him. "Shut up,"

"By the way Torao-kun, you were talking to someone on the Den-Den Mushi," Robin noted. "Who was it?"

"Doflamingo," Law answered.

"Doflamingo! The Shichibukai!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Why do you care if he's a Shichibukai?" Crocodile asked.

"He's a Warlord!" Usopp pointed out. "Aren't you afraid!?"

"I'm a former Shichibukai," Crocodile pointed out. "You guys picked a fight with me just because Princess Vivi asked for help to save her kingdom,"

"That's because Vivi is our nakama!" Luffy said. "Now Torao's our nakama too so I'll kick Mingo's ass for him!"

"I'll kill Doflamingo," Crocodile said. "He killed my little brother,"

"I thought Akainu killed him?"

Crocodile stiffened at the reminder. "That our middle brother. I'm the eldest and Alligator's the in the middle. Doflamingo killed our youngest brother,"

"Then I'll kick Mingo's ass for you too!" Luffy declared.

"No, I'll kill Doflamingo to avenge Cora-san!" Law said. "On Punk Hazard, I asked oy guys to kidnap Caesar while I destroyed the machine that created the substance known as SAD. Most of the big name pirates have turf somewhere on this sea. Along with their subordinates, they create a massive criminal syndicate,"

"Like Broccoli Works?" Luffy asked.

"It was _Baroque_ Works!" Crocodile corrected.

"They're on a completely different scale than the pirates you're familiar with," Law continued. "If a single pirate crew tried to take them on alone, they would never even see the captain. But they have to stay in the underworld. All deals and trades are done in secret so they don't attract the Navy's attention,"

"Hey Croc," Luffy interrupted. "Do you know anyone from the underground?"

"All my contacts stopped dealing with me," Crocodile answered.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Because you kicked his ass in Alabasta," Sanji reminded.

"Sanji, shut up before I turn you into a mummy," Crocodile threatened.

"You know, if you actually knew the voices of your subordinates then maybe you would've gotten slightly farther than before," Sanji said.

"Among them, the most powerful and trusted person is Doflamingo," Law informed. "His underworld name is Joker and his greatest trading partner is one of the Yonko, Kaido the Beast. He's the one we're after,"

XXX

"Please stop it!" G-5 begged. "Smokey's gonna die!"

"Doflamingo!" Aura used Soru to get behind the ten foot tall jackass and tried to kick him.

Doflamingo grabbed Aura's shirt and slammed her to the ground. "Guess I'll deal with you first. I can't be sure what each person knows," Doflamingo grabbed Aura's neck. "So I'll just have to kill Law, Mugiwara, and everyone here," He raised his arm up. "I'll kill you all!"

"Please stop!"

Aura caught sight of someone approaching them. "K-Kuzan…san…"

"Oh my," Kuzan said. "Sorry, little boy. Could you move, please? Both Aura and Smoker are my friends,"

"That's Aokiji, a former Admiral!" G-5 exclaimed. "He was defeated by Akainu and disappeared!"

Aura attempted to hit Doflamingo but the villain's hold was still strong. She tried to use Haki and hit Doflamingo where it hurts but her whole body was pinned down. Doflamingo was about to finish her off when Kuzan froze him.

"Young Master!" Baby 5 and Buffalo screamed.

Doflamingo broke out of the ice and turned to Kuzan. He started to walk in Kuzan's direction but went right past him. "I don't want to fight you, but if I can't keep his mouth shut, then I'll have to change my approach,"

"Kuzan kill him!" Aura yelled. "He was the one who killed Rocinante!"

"Could you tell me one thing?" Doflamingo asked Kuzan.

"What?"

"Just what are you now, Kuzan?" Doflamingo questioned. "The things I've heard about you aren't good. Fufufu,"

"Hey, hurry up with the first aid!" Kuzan shouted to the G-5 Marines, kneeling beside Smoker.

As Doflamingo and Baby 5 got onto Buffalo's back, Aura ran towards them. "I'm not letting you get away!"

"Aura!" Kuzan yelled.

Doflamingo grinned and used his strings to keep her still, grabbing her and tossing her onto Buffalo's back. "Looks like we have an additional passenger,"

"If you won't kill him, Kuzan, then I will!" Aura shouted to the former Marine. "I'll get out of these strings and kill Doflamingo!"

Kuzan didn't bother to retrieve Aura as they were flying away. "Why aren't you stopping her?" Smoker queried.

"She chose to go after Doflamingo's head," Kuzan answered. "Crocodile is heading over to Dressrosa, isn't he?"

"How'd you know?" Smoker asked.

"If he's with the Straw Hats now, then that's the next island," Kuzan explained. "Besides, since its Doflamingo's island then Crocodile would be aiming to kill him too. Rocinante was Aura's friend but he was Crocodile's brother,"

XXX

"I am going to tear you limb from limb!" Aura snarled.

"Fufufu, now I see why Vergo was attracted to you," Doflamingo grinned. "You've got guts,"

"How do you know Cora-san, anyway?" Baby 5 asked Aura.

"He was one of my best friends!" Aura snapped.

"I'm sure I can use you for leverage against Croco-man," Doflamingo folded his hands behind his head and laid back. "The face of a vagabond is very different from someone who has a purpose,"

XXX

"The factory that creates Smile is located somewhere on Dressrosa," Law said.

"So all we have to do is find and destroy it?" Franky asked.

"Exactly," Law answered. "Once that's done, Kaido won't be able to increase his forces. But our enemy is a trade professional. He won't sit idly by,"

"Rocinante mentioned something about his brother knowing a secret about Mariejois," Crocodile said.

"A secret about Mariejois?" Robin asked. "How would Doflamingo know about it?"

"He's a former Celestial Dragon," Crocodile revealed.

"EH!?"

"J-Joker was a Celestial Dragon!?" Caesar exclaimed.

"What do you mean by _former_?" Sanji asked.

"When he was eight, he, his brother, and their parents gave up their life as Celestial Dragons to live amongst humans," Crocodile said. "I won't go into details,"

XXX

"Why don't you give Croco-man a call?" Doflamingo handed a Den-Den Mushi to Aura. "Go beg for your knight in shining armor to rescue you,"

Aura reluctantly took the snail and dialed Croc's number. "Croc,"

 _"Aura? What's wrong?"_

Doflamingo took the transceiver from Aura. "Hey there Croco-man,"

 _"Doflamingo!"_

"I got your friend here with me," Doflamingo said. "Meet me at my palace and then we'll talk,"

 _"Don't hang up on me you flamingo bastard—"_

But Doflamingo had placed the transceiver back down. "Fufufu, I wonder if Croco-man will fight his nakama for your safety,"

"Bastard…"

* * *

 **So Dressrosa Arc will be kinda different from canon. Doflamingo took Aura hostage and will force Crocodile to fight the Straw Hats or he'll kill Aura.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Crocodile Tears**

 **Title:** Crocodile Tears  
 **Rating:** T  
 **Fandom:** One Piece  
 **Summary:** [Alternative Ending to The Tale of Crocodile and Alligator] Alligator died at the War of Marineford, protecting Luffy. His last request was for Crocodile and Daz Bones to join the Straw Hat Pirates. He wanted Crocodile to learn how to care about others again.

* * *

 _"It's me. I've resigned from the Shichibukai,"_

"He answered!"

"It's him!"

"He picked up the phone!"

"Doflamingo!?" Luffy snatched the transceiver from Law.

"Shh! He'll hear you!" Usopp shushed.

But Luffy being himself, ignored Usopp. "Hello!? I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who'll become the Pirate King!"

His actions caused Usopp to hit him on the head. "I'm telling you, shut up!"

"Hey! Mingo!" Luffy shouted. "So you're that idiot Caesar's boss!? That bastard hurt Brownbeard and the kids! We'll give Caesar back since we promised, but if he ever does anything like that again, I'll beat the crap out of you too!"

 _"Straw Hat Luffy. It's been two years since you've disappeared from the world. Where were you and what were you doing?"_

"I can't tell anyone," Luffy replied.

 _"Fufufu. I'd like to meet you in person and see what Croco-man saw in you that made him want to join your crew,"_

Law snatched the transceiver back. "Joker, no more pointless sidetracking. We will hand over Caesar as promised,"

 _"That's wise of you. You know very well what would happen if you back out now. First things first, I want to confirm that my vital business partner is safe,"_

Law held the transceiver towards Caesar. "Joker, please forgive me! You had to give up your rank for—"

Law then brought the transceiver back to himself. "Good enough for you?"

 _"Yes, sounds like he's fine,"_

"In eight hours we will be on the island on the north of Dressrosa, Green Bit. We will be at the southeast beach," Law informed. "We'll drop Caesar there at three o'clock. Pick him up yourself. We will make no further contact,"

 _"Fufufu. How sad. I wanted to have a drink with you, now that you're all grown up. Croco-man, remember our meeting,"_

"Just hang up already!" Luffy shouted and Law did so.

"Boss, what meeting is Doflamingo talking about?" Daz asked.

Crocodile clenched his fists. "He kidnapped Aura,"

Sanji was immediately infuriated. "That bastard kidnapped Aura-chan!?"

"He told me to meet with him at his palace," Crocodile said.

"Let's kick Mingo's ass and rescue Aura!" Luffy declared.

"Are you crazy!?" Usopp exclaimed, hitting Luffy's head.

Nami sighed. "You know there's no stopping Luffy once he says he's gonna do something,"

"But Doflamingo's a Shichibukai!" Usopp pointed out.

"And?" Zoro asked.

"The Shichibukai are really powerful!" Usopp argued.

"I beat Crocodile up when he was a warlord," Luffy reminded.

"And remember what happened the first two times?" Usopp said.

Luffy tried to recall what had happened but couldn't remember. "Nope,"

"He stabbed you with his hook the first time and then absorbed the moisture from your body the second time," Robin informed.

"You can't go rushing in without a plan!" Usopp told Luffy.

"I'll just kick Mingo's ass!" Luffy repeated.

"Doflamingo won't be able to recognize you at first, right Crocodile?" Robin asked.

"He'll be able to recognize my voice though," Crocodile said.

"Maybe you can use it to your advantage," Robin suggested. "If you get into a fight with him and he doesn't recognize you, then try to alter your voice and refrain from using your Devil Fruit. It'll be less likely that seastone chains will be used on you,"

"Hey Law," Sanji said. "You never specified the number of people that he could bring with him to Green Bit. What if he brings _all_ his men to the exchange?"

"It doesn't matter," Law claimed. "The way I've planned it, handing Caesar over is just a distraction,"

"So you mean our goal is to destroy the Smile factory while he's gone?" Usopp asked.

"That's right," Law replied. "Problem is, I don't know where the factory is,"

"Then it's hopeless," Usopp responded.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Franky spoke up. "I mean, something as big as a factory can't be too hard to find. I'm sure we'll super-figure it out in no time once we're there. I'll take it out with a single beam!"

"I tried my best, but I couldn't find any info on the factory," Law informed.

"That makes sense," Nami noted. "It's the enemy's most important facility, right? There might be some kind of trick to it,"

"Law-dono!" Kin'emon called. "Law-dono! Did you just say you were heading for Green Bit?"

"The ship will be anchored at Dressrosa," Law said. "Don't worry,"

"Hey Torao, have you ever been there before?" Luffy questioned. "Dressroba!"

"Dressroba?" Robin asked, thinking about an old lady.

"Dress _rosa_!" Law corrected. "And no, I've never been there. He is the king of that land,"

"Do you honestly think that he resigned from the Shichibukai?" Crocodile asked.

"It was in the newspaper," Law held up the newspaper.

"He could be pulling some strings," Crocodile reminded. "If I'm able to fool a kingdom, don't you think he'd be able to fool Dressrosa?"

XXX

"The colosseum is a popular as ever," Doflamingo said, staring out the window. "That is thanks to you, Diamante,"

"Not at all," Diamante denied. "Doffy, this is just due to your charisma as king,"

"Not at all," Doflamingo told him. "It's because of your talent,"

"Oh, stop talking like I'm some hero of the colosseum," Diamante said.

"But you are," Doflamingo continued.

"Oh, you exaggerate," Diamante claimed.

"Fine you're not," Doflamingo stopped.

"If you must insist, then well!" Diamante declared. "Indeed, I am the hero of the colosseum!"

"Ne! Ne, ne!" Trebol finally joined them in the Hall of Suits. "I brought what you asked for, Doffy!"

"You're standing too close!" Doflamingo growled.

"Too close…but?"

"But I like that about you," He responded. "Now take your seat,"

"The prisoner has escaped again!" Voices shouted outside. "Get her!"

Aura barged into the Hall of Suits. "Doflamingo!" She charged towards the said man with her sword infused with Haki.

Doflamingo flicked his fingers, stopping Aura in place. "Now, now, can't you see that we're having a meeting here?"

"Doffy, who's the girl?" Pica asked.

"She's Croco-man's friend," Doflamingo answered. "And the key to getting him on our side,"

"There's no way Croc's gonna listen to you!" Aura growled. "You killed his brother!"

"Didn't that Alligator guy die from Akainu's attack?" Diamante asked.

"Wrong brother, shithead!" Aura snapped. "He killed Rocinante!"

The air grew tense at the mention of that name. "Corazon was a traitor. He _deserved_ to die!"

"Shut up!" Aura yelled.

Ignoring her, Doflamingo continued on with the meeting. "Since Straw Hat Luffy cares about his friends, he'll probably enter the colosseum if Croco-man asks him to," He opened up the chest he held, revealing the Dust-Dust Fruit. "This is the Devil Fruit of Alligator after all,"

Aura's eyes widened at sight of it. "The Dust-Dust Fruit…"

"Diamante, I'd like to entrust you with this," Doflamingo walked over to the Diamond Seat holder.

"Hang on Doffy, I possibly couldn't," Diamante said.

"No, I want you to take care of it," Doflamingo persisted.

"Give me the Dust-Dust Fruit!" Aura struggled against the strings.

But they continued to ignore the Vice-Admiral. "Don't treat me like some kind of genius,"

"No, you _are_ a genius," Doflamingo continued. "Nobody else can do it,"

"Oh, you exaggerate,"

"Fine, you're not," Doflamingo pulled the chest back.

"If you insist, then I must admit that I _am_ a genius!" Diamante declared. "Indeed! The trash Mugiwara and his crew can try whatever he wants, but it won't work!"

"Fufufu," Doflamingo grinned. "Good to know," He then turned to Aura. "Now what to do with you? I'm surprised at how many times you've escaped,"

"Throw her in the pool!" Trebol suggested. "She could be a Devil Fruit user if she's escape that many times,"

"How _did_ you manage to escape?" Doflamingo asked Aura.

"I just asked for help from a girl dressed as a maid," Aura answered.

The executives groaned. "Baby 5…"

XXX

The Thousand Sunny had finally reached Dressrosa. Luffy jumped off the ship and landed on the island. "We're here! Dressrosa!"

"Not so loud, Luffy!" Usopp warned. "We're in enemy territory," But Luffy continued to laugh loudly. "Oh, come on,"

"I feel particularly super this week!" Franky said as he got off the ship. "I can easily blow up a factory or two. Let's just find it and get it done!"

"Again, don't be so loud!" Usopp shushed.

A delicious scent drew some of the crewmate's attention before Law could finish explaining the plan. "Why did I ever think this alliance was a good idea?"

XXX

Luffy, Crocodile, Daz, Sanji, Zoro, Franky, Kin'emon, and Fang were all inside a restaurant, wearing sunglasses, fake bears, and fake mustaches. "Don't you think it's strange though?" Sanji asked. "The king of this country abdicated this very morning. I expected there to be panic but…"

"Maybe they don't know yet?" Franky said.

"Let's ask them," Luffy suggested.

But Sanji hit Luffy in the head. "Your face was on the front page, remember!?"

The clash of cymbals drew their attention. "I am very sorry to have kept you waiting," The toy apologized. "Or not!?"

"Here it comes!" Luffy cheered. "I've been waiting for this!"

"Dress shrimp paella," The toy placed the orders down on the table. "Rose squid-ink pasta. And fairy pumpkin in gazpacho,"

"It all looks delicious!" Luffy drooled. "Time to eat!" He began to chow down. "It's so yummy!"

"Fairy pumpkin? What's that?" Sanji asked.

"Well, you see," The toy clapped its cymbals again. "Here in this country, people still believe the legends of fairies. Or maybe they don't! In other words, maybe fairies appear. Or maybe they don't! It's been like this for centuries!"

"Oi don't eat Fang!" Crocodile pulled his pet Bananawani away from Luffy's mouth. "She's not food!"

"We can't see them, but they definitely exist," The toy continued. "People call those fairies Dressrosa's guardian spirits! Or maybe they don't!"

"Stop clapping those damn cymbals or I'll dice you to pieces," Daz threatened, getting annoyed by the toy.

"Seriously, it'd be easier to believe in fairies than in these living toys," Sanji said.

"This is the New World," Crocodile shrugged.

"He won again! That's fourteen times in a row!"

"What's with all the commotion?" Franky asked.

"It's a roulette table," Zoro answered. "A blind old man is messing with them,"

"Old blind man?" Luffy questioned.

Crocodile's eyes widened. "He won fourteen times in a row…Hey Zoro, did that guy have scars over his eyes?"

"Huh? Yeah he did," Zoro recalled.

"Do you know that man?" Kin'emon asked.

"He's with the Navy," Crocodile warned. "He may be blind but he's powerful. I knew him back when I was in the Marines,"

XXX

"Place your bets," The man in charge of the roulette table said nervously.

"Black please," Fujitora placed a small stack of red chips in front of him.

"Did you hear that? Black, he said!" The rest of the gamblers started to bet the same as him.

"No more bets!" The man shouted angrily, ringing the bell.

The ball landed. "Black, number twenty nine!"

"Amazing, fifteen wins in a row!" The other gamblers said to Fujitora. "Thank you! Thank you so much, sir! Trusting you has made me rich!"

"Oh, it was nothing," Fujitora claimed. "Just a lucky streak,"

"This isn't much, but take it!" Some people offered some chips to him. "Just a tip,"

"I'll pay you some back to you as well. Please help me next round, too,"

"Me too,"

"And me,"

The Donquixote henchmen then approached the table. "You're pretty good at this," The guy with a mask said. "So, would you like to compete face to face?"

"One on one?" Fujitora asked.

"That's right," He answered. "I'd like to challenge your luck. Don't tell me you're call it quits now!"

"Of course not," Fujitora said. "The other gamblers were so king as to tip me, so I'll gladly compete with you,"

"Well said!" The man responded. "I like you, old man! That said, the rest of you can go cash out," He then spun the ball.

"Put me down for white, please," Fujitora told him.

Looking at where the ball had landed, the henchman smirked. "Too bad for you! It's black! You lose!"

"I see," Fujitora was still calmly. "Well, I'll get it next time! Go, white!"

Again and again, Fujitora betted on white but the henchmen were jackasses and claimed that it was black. "How awful!" The restaurant's patrons said amongst themselves.

"He's a disgrace to the Donquixote Family," The monkey toy next to him added.

"What are they doing?" Sanji queried.

Luffy stood up as the Navy soldier betted everything he had. "Oi Luffy," Zoro warned.

"He's a Marine," Crocodile reminded.

"Those guys are jerks!" Luffy responded, still eating as he walked over to the back.

"White, please," Fujitora told the Donquixote henchmen.

The ball landed on white number seven. "Too bad for you, gramps! It's bl—"

"It's white!" Luffy interrupted, earning everyone's attention.

"Huh!? Who the hell are you!?" The henchman demanded. "Take a closer look! It's black you dumbass!"

Luffy continued to eat. "Nope, that's white. You won, old man,"

"Stay out of this!" The henchman ordered. "It doesn't concern you!"

The other patrons at the restaurant were shocked and scared. "Who is that guy? Doesn't he know who he's up against!?"

"And there he goes," Sanji sighed. "Butting in again,"

"How did he become my captain again?" Crocodile asked.

"We kicked you and your subordinates' asses in Alabasta," Zoro answered.

Crocodile let his head hit the table. "I shouldn't have let him live the first two battles I had with him. Should've made sure that he was dead,"

"D-Did I really win?" Fujitora questioned.

"Yup," Luffy said through a mouthful. "You sure did,"

"I don't know who you are," Fujitora replied. "But thank you so much for your kindness!"

"Don't mention it. I just said what I saw," Luffy told him. "Congratulation. But you're really good at this. So you must really be—"

"He's gonna give himself away by mentioning that the old guy's a Marine!" Sanji realized.

"Quit being so insolent, kid!" The henchman interrupted before Luffy could say Marine.

A few minutes later, Fujitora defeated the henchmen using some sort of gravity Devil Fruit or something. He left, giving a note to the register. The "fairies" had stolen some belongings of the restaurant, including one of Zoro's sword. Zoro jumped through the window, Sanji and Kin'emon following after him.

"Someone kill me for joining such a stupid crew," Daz mumbled.

XXX

Franky, Daz, Luffy, and Crocodile had dragged one of the Donquixote henchmen out to an alley. "So you're one of Doflamingo's henchmen?" Franky asked.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"My hunch was super accurate," Franky said to himself.

"I'm going to slice him up into pieces," Daz turned his forearms into blades.

The henchman's eyes widened with fear. "W-What is it you want to know!? I'll t-tell you I swear!"

"Where are the samurai and the woman that Doflamingo kidnapped?" Crocodile asked.

"I remember chasing the samurai but I have no idea how he was captured or where he is now," The henchman claimed. "I saw the young master with Sir Buffalo and Lady Baby 5. There was a Navy soldier with them too. They were heading to the palace,"

"What about the Smile Factory?" Daz brought the blades close to the man's neck.

"I haven't even heard of this Smile," The henchman denied. "Nothing at all, not even that factory of yours you guys are spouting about!"

"Where are your superiors?" Daz brought the blades even closer, causing a small trickle of blood to form.

"I don't know where anyone is!" He shouted. "Everyone's busy today! They're all being called to the colosseum! The Corrida Colosseum are where the higher-ups will be. Today's a special event. The special prize is the Dust-Dust Fruit!"

Crocodile's eyes widened. He pushed Daz aside and grabbed the henchman by his throat. "Where is he hiding the Devil Fruit!?"

"I don't know!" The man was panicking even more.

Crocodile slowly began to drain the moisture from the man's body. "Then you're of no use to me!" The man quickly became dehydrated, dead. "Daz, come with me to meet with Doflamingo. I'll use the alias Craton and alter my voice. Luffy…I know I have no right to ask you of anything after Alabasta but…"

"I'll enter the tournament for you!" Luffy nodded. "I'll win your brother's Devil Fruit!"

"Don't eat it," Franky reminded.

"Hey, I don't eat everything!" Luffy argued.

"You tried to eat Fang just a few minutes ago!"

* * *

 **How will Crocodile and Daz's confrontation with Doflamingo go? By the way, they'll be meeting with Doflamingo AFTER he kidnapped Law.**

 **Craton means "he who rules." I had planned it to be his original name when he was with his family before he was adopted by Sengoku.**


End file.
